What deliverables are included in a CSRD consulting project?

A CSRD consulting project typically produces a set of core deliverables: a double materiality assessment, a gap analysis, drafted ESRS disclosures, data collection tools, and support documentation for the assurance process. The exact scope depends on where your organization is in its reporting journey and the specialization of the consultant you bring in. Below, we unpack each of these deliverables in detail so you know exactly what to expect.

What documents does a CSRD consultant typically produce?

A CSRD reporting consultant typically produces several interconnected documents across a project: a double materiality assessment, a gap analysis report, drafted ESRS disclosures, data collection templates, and an assurance-ready sustainability statement. These deliverables build on each other, moving from strategic assessment through to a report that meets the requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

It is worth being clear that CSRD experts are specialists, and the scope of what any individual consultant delivers depends on their role within the project. Some focus exclusively on the double materiality assessment, others specialize in drafting the actual disclosures, and many larger projects bring in multiple specialists who each own a defined piece of the work. What you receive at the end of a project reflects both the consultant’s specialization and the structure of the engagement itself.

Broadly, the document set for a full CSRD compliance project includes:

• Double materiality assessment (DMA): A structured analysis identifying which sustainability topics are material to your business, covering both financial materiality and impact materiality.
• Gap analysis report: A comparison of your current reporting practices against ESRS requirements, identifying what is absent and what needs to be developed.
• ESRS disclosure drafts: Written disclosures aligned to the relevant European Sustainability Reporting Standards, ready for review and sign-off.
• Data collection tools: Templates, trackers, or systems used to gather the quantitative and qualitative data needed to populate disclosures.
• Assurance documentation: Supporting materials that help your external assurance provider verify the accuracy of your sustainability statement.

Together, these documents form the backbone of a CSRD compliance project, with each one feeding into the next. This is why the sequencing of the work matters as much as the quality of any individual deliverable — and it starts with getting the materiality assessment right, since that shapes every disclosure that follows.

What is included in a CSRD double materiality assessment?

A CSRD double materiality assessment (DMA) is a structured process that identifies which sustainability topics are material to your organization from two angles: the financial impact of sustainability risks and opportunities on your business, and your business’s actual or potential impacts on people and the environment. The output is a prioritized list of material topics that determines which ESRS standards you need to report against.

The DMA is one of the most involved deliverables in a CSRD project, and a specialist consultant will typically structure it around several components:

• Stakeholder engagement documentation: Records of consultations with internal and external stakeholders whose perspectives inform which topics are considered material. This may include surveys, structured interviews, or facilitated workshops.
• Impact materiality analysis: An assessment of your organization’s actual and potential positive and negative impacts across environmental, social, and governance topics, including those arising through your value chain.
• Financial materiality analysis: An evaluation of which sustainability-related risks and opportunities could reasonably affect your financial position, cash flows, or access to capital over the short, medium, and long term.
• Materiality matrix or summary: A visual or tabular output that maps topics by their significance across both dimensions, forming the basis for deciding which ESRS disclosures apply to your organization.
• Methodology documentation: A written explanation of the process, criteria, and assumptions applied, which is important for both internal governance and assurance purposes.

The DMA is widely regarded as the most consequential deliverable in the whole project because it sets the scope of everything else. It is also worth noting that the revised ESRS adopted by the European Commission in July 2026 have introduced new flexibilities in how the DMA process works, so a consultant with up-to-date knowledge of the revised standards is particularly important here.

Once the DMA establishes which topics are material, the natural next step is understanding how your current practices measure up against what those topics require — which is precisely what the gap analysis addresses.

How does a CSRD gap analysis differ from the final report?

A CSRD gap analysis is a diagnostic document produced early in the project that assesses your organization’s existing sustainability data, processes, and disclosures against what the applicable ESRS standards require, and identifies the gaps. The final sustainability report, by contrast, is the finished output that addresses those gaps and meets the actual disclosure requirements of the CSRD.

Think of the gap analysis as the map and the final report as the destination. The gap analysis identifies your current position, defines where you need to be, and outlines what it will take to get there — typically including an inventory of existing data sources, an assessment of which ESRS datapoints you can already satisfy, a list of missing data or processes, and a prioritized action plan for closing those gaps.

The final sustainability statement is the document your organization publishes as part of its management report, containing the actual disclosures structured around the ESRS standards that are material to your business. It needs to meet the requirements set out under the CSRD and be prepared in a way that allows for limited assurance by an external auditor or assurance provider.

One important practical point: the gap analysis is only useful if it is candid. A rigorous CSRD consultant will flag gaps that are uncomfortable to acknowledge, because those are precisely the areas where compliance risk sits, and the gap analysis is an internal working document that can and should be direct about where the organization currently falls short.

With a clear picture of what is missing, the consultant can then turn to the work of actually drafting the disclosures that will fill those gaps — which brings us to the ESRS standards themselves.

Which ESRS disclosures does a consultant help draft?

A CSRD reporting consultant helps draft the ESRS disclosures that are material to your organization based on the double materiality assessment. These can span environmental topics such as climate change, biodiversity, and resource use; social topics such as workforce conditions and human rights in the value chain; and governance topics such as business conduct and risk management processes.

The ESRS framework includes two cross-cutting standards that apply to all companies in scope: ESRS 1, which sets out the general requirements and principles, and ESRS 2, which covers general disclosures about governance, strategy, and materiality. Beyond those, the topical standards a consultant works on depend entirely on what emerged from the DMA.

For each material topic, the consultant typically drafts:

• Narrative disclosures: Written explanations of your policies, targets, actions, and governance arrangements related to the topic. These require precise, well-structured language that accurately reflects your organization’s actual practices.
• Quantitative datapoints: Specific metrics required by the relevant standard, such as greenhouse gas emissions figures, workforce data, or water consumption volumes, presented in the format the standard specifies.
• Value chain disclosures: Where relevant, information about sustainability impacts, risks, and opportunities that arise through your upstream and downstream value chain rather than within your own operations.

It is worth noting that the revised ESRS adopted in July 2026 significantly reduce the number of mandatory datapoints, with mandatory datapoints cut by more than 60% and the total number of datapoints reduced by more than 70%. This means that a consultant working with the revised standards will be drafting a more focused set of disclosures than was previously required, which should also reduce the overall cost and complexity of the reporting exercise.

Of course, drafting accurate disclosures is only possible when the underlying data has been properly gathered — and that is where the right collection tools make all the difference.

What data collection tools are provided during a CSRD project?

During a CSRD project, a consultant who specializes in data and reporting infrastructure will typically provide data collection templates, input trackers, and structured questionnaires designed to gather the specific information needed for each material ESRS disclosure. These tools are built around your organization’s structure and the datapoints identified as relevant to your report.

Whether a consultant develops or provides data collection tools depends on their specialization. A CSRD reporting expert focused on drafting disclosures may direct data collection to your internal team with detailed guidance, while a consultant with a stronger operational or systems background may design more comprehensive data infrastructure — so it is worth clarifying this scope at the outset when defining the engagement.

When data collection tools are part of the deliverables, they typically include:

• Input templates by topic: Structured spreadsheets or forms for each material ESRS topic, specifying exactly what data is needed, in what unit, and from which part of the business or value chain.
• Internal questionnaires: Surveys or structured interviews for different departments — including HR, procurement, finance, and operations — to gather the qualitative and quantitative information they hold.
• Data validation guidance: Notes or protocols that help the people completing the templates understand what constitutes a valid datapoint and how to handle uncertainty or estimation.
• Audit trail documentation: A record of where each datapoint originated, which is important for the assurance process and for maintaining consistency across reporting periods.

Effective data collection tools do more than gather figures for this year’s report — they help your team develop the internal processes and habits that make future reporting faster and more reliable. The first CSRD report is generally the most demanding because you are building from scratch, but the tools a consultant leaves behind are often what make subsequent reports significantly less resource-intensive.

Once the data is in place and the disclosures are drafted, the final critical step is making sure everything can withstand external scrutiny — which is where assurance support becomes essential.

Should a CSRD consultant also support the assurance process?

Yes, a CSRD consultant should ideally support the assurance process, even if they are not the assurance provider themselves. Their role is to prepare the sustainability statement and supporting documentation in a way that makes the external auditor’s or assurance provider’s review as straightforward as possible, including organizing evidence, documenting methodology, and responding to queries during the assurance engagement.

Under the CSRD, companies are required to obtain limited assurance on their sustainability statement, and the assurance provider — which must be an approved statutory auditor or audit firm — will review the disclosures and the underlying data to confirm they meet the required standards. A CSRD consultant who has drafted the disclosures is well-placed to act as the point of contact during this process, explaining the methodology behind specific datapoints and providing the documentation trail that assurance providers need.

Practically, assurance-readiness support from a consultant may include:

• Evidence mapping: Linking each disclosure or datapoint back to its source documentation so the assurance provider can trace and verify it.
• Methodology notes: Written explanations of how estimates were derived, what assumptions were applied, and where data limitations exist, so the assurance provider understands the basis for each figure.
• Query management: Acting as the primary contact for assurance provider questions, reducing the burden on your internal team and ensuring responses are accurate and consistent.

One thing to keep in mind: the regulatory timeline for assurance standards is still evolving, with the European Commission’s original deadline of October 2026 to adopt limited assurance standards now extended to July 2027. Until those harmonized standards are in place, assurance practices may vary between providers, making a consultant who remains current with these regulatory developments a genuine asset during this period of transition.

Understanding what each deliverable involves is a strong foundation — but the quality of your project ultimately comes down to finding the right specialist to produce them.

Ready to find the right CSRD expert for your project?

Knowing what deliverables to expect is one thing. Having the right specialist to produce them is another, and CSRD reporting is a technical discipline where the quality of your sustainability statement depends heavily on the expertise of the person or team behind it.

At Dazzle, we match organizations with pre-screened CSRD consultants who have the specific expertise your project needs, whether that’s leading a double materiality assessment, drafting ESRS disclosures, or preparing your documentation for assurance. Our matching process is hands-on and tailored to your situation, so you get someone who fits your project rather than a generic assignment.

We can connect you with the right expert within 48 hours, and you can engage them on a project basis or as an interim resource, depending on what works for you. If you’re ready to get started or just want to talk through what your CSRD project needs, get in touch with our team. We’re here to help you find the right fit, fast.