An Assessment of Swedish Construction Companies Preparedness for the CSRD

Abstract: This master’s thesis investigates the preparedness of a selection of medium-sized Swedish construction companies for the upcoming Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). By examining the companies’ awareness and knowledge of the new regulation, this thesis aims to provide insights into the challenges and opportunities they may encounter. The research questions explored include: the extent of these companies’ knowledge and understanding of the CSRD requirements, the most challenging aspects of these regulations, and the potential impact of the CSRD on their sustainability practices.  The results shows that the examined medium-sized Swedish construction companies has limited knowledge about the CSRD. The companies face a number of challenges in connection to their ability to comply to the CSRD. The most prominent challenge was found to be External data collection - scope 3. Furthermore, the companies believe that by complying with the CSRD it will make them more sustainable. However, the companies believe the tools and methods needed to comply with the CSRD could affect their profitability. Nevertheless the companies generally believe that this need for resources can become a long-term investment and thereby make them more sustainable and profitable.