Van Marcke Group is a large and complex organisation with various entities and activities, of which the distribution of sanitary and heating systems is the largest and best known. The company — which is the market leader in Belgium, but also operates internationally — aims to create comfort while respecting nature.
Van Marcke is subject to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), a European directive requiring companies to report transparently on their sustainability policy and the related financial risks and opportunities (financial materiality), and its impact on people and the environment (impact materiality). For large, unlisted companies such as Van Marcke, mandatory reporting starts in 2026, based on their activities in 2025.
Strategic challenge
The CSRD imposes a clear timeline for companies to prepare for the new reporting requirement. One crucial element of these preparations is the double materiality assessment (DMA). Like many other large companies, Van Marcke plans to conduct this double materiality assessment in 2024. Doing so will lay the groundwork for collecting the necessary data in 2025 and preparing the report for publication in 2026.
This timeline will ensure that Van Marcke can comply with the new requirements in good time. At the same time, a properly conducted double materiality assessment provides valuable insights that can yield strategic benefits. To help carry out its DMA, Van Marcke called on the expertise of Möbius.
Approach
Möbius carried out Van Marcke's double materiality assessment in three main stages:
Preparation stage
During this stage, a comprehensive ESG longlist was drawn up, based on the wide-ranging list of topics under the ESRS. The longlist was then refined and whittled down to a shortlist based on relevance to the sector and Van Marcke's unique situation and business context.
For example, one major and company-specific topic on the final shortlist was 'water consumption of end products', a key focal point in Van Marcke's vision. In addition, a stakeholder engagement plan was developed and rolled out to bring on board both internal and external stakeholders through various channels (such as surveys, desk research, interviews and so on).
Identification stage
During this stage, impacts, financial risks and opportunities (IROs) were identified through internal and external documentation and interviews with internal experts. Afterwards, each IRO was assessed individually during workshops with topic representatives at Van Marcke using the CSRD scoring model: severity and likelihood for impacts, and magnitude (% of EBITDA) and likelihood for financial risks and opportunities. The scores of the individual IROs were ultimately used to rate the various ESG topics and place them on a materiality matrix.
Consolidation stage
During the consolidation workshop, the materiality matrix was validated, and an additional check was carried out using feedback from stakeholders and sector benchmarks previously collected during the preparation stage. As such, the topics in the matrix reflect the topics that are at the forefront of the minds of customers, suppliers, the sector at large and Van Marcke itself.
The team also worked out where the threshold values for material impacts and financial risks would lie. This allowed Van Marcke to determine which topics were the most significant, meaning they needed to be reported on according to the CSRD guidelines. The eventual reporting of each topic is always based on four cornerstones: policy, objective, action plan and KPIs.
What are the next steps for Van Marcke? — example based on 'Water consumption of finished products'
One company-specific issue that had already been identified as important to Van Marcke during the preparation stage is the water consumption of its finished products. This topic exceeded the threshold values in the materiality matrix, meaning it had to be included in the reporting. The structure of any reporting on this topic might look like this, for example:
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Policy: Under this cornerstone, Van Marcke reports on the initiatives and strategies developed by the company in terms of innovation and R&D to reduce the water consumption of its finished products.
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Objectives: Here, specific targets are set, such as reducing water consumption by a certain percentage, by a specific date.
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Actions: Under this cornerstone, the company reports on concrete measures taken, such as partnerships with suppliers and investments in technologies or processes that reduce water consumption.
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KPIs: Finally, indicators are set to measure and report the average water consumption of certain products, so insight can be gained into the progress made.
Result
This double materiality assessment leaves Van Marcke well-prepared for its mandatory CSRD reporting. The organisation is now able to collect the right data and prepare a detailed and transparent sustainability report to be published in 2026.
That said, a DMA is more than just a mandatory report. A thorough analysis of human and environmental impacts and financial risks provided Van Marcke with valuable insights. These insights offer strategic benefits that contribute to the organisation's long-term sustainability goals.
