CSRD: What is the impact on fleet management?

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is a new EU regulation that requires companies to report on risks and opportunities arising from social and environmental issues, such as climate change, and on the impact of their activities on people and the environment. While different types of businesses will be affected by the CSRD regulation at different times, over the coming years many thousands of companies across the continent will need to comply with CSRD.

Webfleet's CO₂ Report can help organisations in fulfilling their CSRD reporting obligations. Webfleet helps fleets by collecting detailed data on their vehicles' fuel consumption to calculate the level of CO₂ emissions produced over the reporting period. This represents a key element of a business’ impact on the environment.

On this page, we will answer some of the questions you might have about this high impact legislation so you can take the right action for your business.

What is CSRD?

Sustainability for fleets involves reporting standards

Up until the end of 2023 the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) required listed companies with more than 500 employees to include non-financial statements as an integral part of their annual public reporting obligations. As of January 2024, CSRD has replaced the NFRD.

CSRD widens the scope of the legislation and mandates which companies need to report sustainability related information and when. To illustrate the impact of the change, while 11,000 companies were in scope for mandatory reporting under NFRD, 50,000 companies are estimated to be in scope under CSRD.

While there are many different aspects to CSRD, one of the most pressing elements for fleet businesses is that companies in scope need to be recording and reporting the volume of their CO₂ emissions.

Emissions are classified into three categories or scopes as follows:

Scope 1:: Direct emissions from owned or controlled fuel-engine vehicles
Scope 2:: Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy
Scope 3:: All indirect emissions from upstream and downstream transport – i.e., vehicles not owned or controlled by the company

How does CSRD impact fleet management?

As mentioned above, different companies will need to comply with the CSRD legislation at different times depending on size and certain other characteristics.

The breakdown is as follows:

2024:

Listed companies with more than 500 employees must start recording CO₂ emissions from January 2024 to start reporting on their annual CO₂ emissions in 2025.

2025:

Other large companies that meet at least two of the three following criteria from CSRD must start recording CO₂ emissions from January 2025 to start reporting on their annual CO₂ emissions in 2026.

The criteria are:

More than 250 employees
More than €50 million in revenue
More than €25 million total assets

2026:

Listed small and medium enterprises that meet at least two of the three following criteria must start recording CO₂ emissions from January 2026 to start reporting on their annual CO₂ emissions in 2027.

The criteria are:

More than 10 employees
More than €900,000 in revenue
More than €450,000 in total assets

2027:

Companies with a non-EU parent and over €150 million turnover must start recording CO₂ emissions from January 2027 to start reporting on their annual CO₂ emissions in 2028.

It is important to note that even if your business is not obliged to report on its CO₂ emissions this year for CSRD, you may still be asked by your larger customers to provide this information when delivering goods or services to them as they need to report on those indirect or Scope 3 emissions to stay compliant. You can find more information on this specific case in this recent blog article: Is your small or medium fleet ready for CSRD? – Webfleet Blog

So, if you run any type of fleet operation, the sooner you can start accurately and clearly recording your CO₂ emissions the better.

Webfleet offers a quick guide to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

Want a quick guide to CSRD instead?

Get our free and simple guide to fleet emissions reporting.

Download the FREE guide

Webfleet’s CSRD solution

Fleets can measure and reduce their CO2 emissions with digital tools

As Webfleet believes in making life as easy as possible for fleet managers, we have updated our Webfleet CO2 Report specifically to support CSRD compliance. This handy tool creates an accurate, clear report of your fleet’s direct CO₂ emissions. With a methodology certified by TÜV Rheinland, it’s a detailed overview of how much CO₂ your vehicles produce.

With this data, you can confidently meet the reporting demands of the new CSRD. Also, you get visibility on how, where and why your fleet is producing unnecessary CO₂.

As well as helping you to meet the demands of regulations such as the EU’s new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), it gives you visibility over how, where and why your fleet is producing unnecessary CO₂. That way, you can take meaningful, measurable action to reduce your fleet’s carbon footprint without risking fleet productivity.

Secure CSRD compliance requirements with Webfleet

CO2 reporting is part of CSRD compliance

There are three possible methods for calculating a fleet’s CO₂ emissions, according the GHG Protocol standard. Two of these methods are possible with the Webfleet CO₂ Report.

1. The fuel-based method: This takes the fuel consumed by a business’ vehicles and then calculates the CO₂ emitted based on the appropriate emission factor of that fuel. This is one of the two methods of calculation possible with the Webfleet CO₂ Report and is generally considered the most accurate method of estimating CO₂ emissions.
2. The distance-based method: This calculates the mass, distance and mode of a shipment and then applies the mass-distance emission factor of the vehicle. This is also possible with the Webfleet CO₂ Report.
3. The spend based method: This takes the amount of money spent on each mode of business travel and considers the secondary emission factors involved. This method is considered the least accurate for calculating CO₂ and it does not give any actionable insights on how to improve your carbon footprint. Therefore, it is not available with Webfleet CO₂ report.

What are the advantages of Webfleet’s CSRD solution?

All fleets will eventually need to comply with CO2 reporting under the CSRD

The Webfleet CO2 Report enables you to:

Track the CO₂ emissions produced by every vehicle in your fleet and take action to reduce them
Report accurately and easily on your business’ CO₂ emissions and environmental impact
Trust a calculation methodology certified by TUV Rheinland for reliable, actionable insights and CSRD reporting

Want to know more about what this market-leading solution can do for you? Then book a call with one of our fleet experts right now.

All you need to know about CSRD

What is the goal of CSRD?

The goal of CSRD is to create greater transparency and accountability in company reporting on environmental and social regulations. As an aspect of the European Green Deal, the CSRD came into effect in January 2024.

What is the difference between ESG and CSRD?

Environmental, Social and (Corporate) Governance, or ESG, is a set of standards used by companies to measure and analyse their impact on the environment and society. ESG is a framework that helps businesses identify climate change risks and how these risks can impact their operations. CSRD is a regulatory requirement which refers to sustainability strategies businesses should employ to report the company’s environmental impact. While ESG is largely voluntary, the CSRD is mandated by law.

Is CSRD the same as TCFD?

The CSRD and TCFD both aim for reporting transparency but they are not the same. The TCFD is a framework that applies to publicly listed companies in the UK (FTSE or AIM) and that is monitored by the IFRS Foundation. The CSRD is a part of EU law. Certain companies that do business in the EU must comply with the CSRD legislation.

What is CSRD software?

CSRD software makes it easier for companies that must comply with the legislation to manage their CSRD reporting. For instance, Webfleet’s CO₂Report makes it easy for fleets to create accurate emissions reports. The CO₂ Report also makes it simple for fleets to measure and reduce their emissions.

What companies are subject to the CSRD?

UK companies are not directly affected by the CSRD, but those with EU subsidiaries meeting the following criteria are (or will be) required to report:

2024

Stock-listed companies with more than 500 employees must record CO₂ emissions for 2025 reporting.

2025

Non-stock listed companies with 2 out of the following 3 criteria must record CO₂ data for 2026 reporting: