A Quick History

Traditionally, materiality assessments have often focused on the business case for sustainability (the environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics most likely to affect and/or influence an organisation’s financial performance), also known as Financial Materiality. While this provides useful outputs for strategy, risk management, and prioritisation, it doesn’t fully consider the organisation’s impacts on people, communities, the environment and wider value chain, which form the stakeholder case for sustainability, also known as Environment & Social Materiality or Impact Materiality.

In 2019, the European Commission formally recognised the ‘double materiality perspective’, explaining that sustainability reporting should consider both Financial Materiality and Impact Materiality. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) strengthened this in 2022 by embedding the double materiality perspective into EU law, requiring in-scope companies to include information necessary to understand both how sustainability matters affect business development and performance, and business impacts on sustainability matters. In 2023, the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) operationalised this requirement by setting out the reporting standards, defining double materiality as having “two dimensions, namely: impact materiality and financial materiality”. The first companies subject to these rules began publishing their reports in 2025, moving double materiality from policy design into reporting practice.  

Ultimately, a materiality assessment helps businesses identify and prioritise the ESG topics that matter most – both in terms of how those topics impact the business, and how the business impacts people, the environment, and the wider value chain. 

In the New Zealand food businesses context

Businesses exporting to European markets may be asked by European Union (EU) customers to provide sustainability information to support their reporting obligations, making materiality assessments increasingly relevant for New Zealand food businesses, even if EU reporting laws do not directly apply.

Indirectly, these reporting requirements are likely to flow through commercial relationships where in-scope EU companies seek reliable information on sustainability issues. For NZ food businesses that export, materiality is no longer only about identifying what matters to the business, as it is also about understanding and evidencing the impacts that matter to customers, regulators, investors, and international markets.

What is really involved in a materiality assessment? 

The steps below offer a more detailed view of our approach to materiality assessments, including how we consider both impact and financial materiality. To discuss your requirements further, contact us here.

1. Define scope and objectives
   As a business, consider what type of outputs are needed from the assessment – such as specific reporting compliance, or sufficient evidence to underpin company strategy - and the intended audience for those outputs (e.g. internally only, or for external sharing). It’s at this step that a business would choose the level of detail needed and determine the stakeholders to involve. We work with you to understand your requirements so that the process and outputs deliver value.
    
2. Identify material business topics
   While there are recognised standards and guidance for materiality assessments, there is no single universally accepted method or fixed topic list that applies equally to every business. ESG topics continue to evolve as sustainability expectations, compliance requirements, and customer priorities change. Our core ESG topic list is regularly reviewed and has been developed specifically for New Zealand food businesses. At this step, we work with businesses to add relevant topics and refine the list to a focused shortlist of terms most relevant to your business and where it operates in the sector.
    
3. Key stakeholder interviews and workshops
   Engaging with the identified stakeholders at this stage is to understand their perspective on the importance and impact of the topics identified in the previous step. This step is customised to fit the scope of your assessment and could look like 1:1 interviews with your key customers and executive team, and workshops with staff across your business. This gathers qualitative information that puts the outputs of the assessment into context.  Being an independent, third-party, our facilitation of these discussions yields valuable insights. We can provide coordination and scheduling support as needed, depending on your engagement preferences.
    
4. Stakeholder assessment and scoring of topics
   Occurring somewhat in parallel with the prior step, it is at this point that quantitative data is collected regarding perspectives on the identified topics and is customised to fit your assessment scope. This could look like using a follow-up survey scoring or the use of interactive software during stakeholder interviews and/or workshops.
    
5. Business impact assessment
   At this step, the business perspective of materiality is assessed. This typically involves working closely with your executive team to ensure that the relative importance and urgency of the identified ESG topics for your business are accurately captured.
    
6. Outputs developed
   Bringing it all together – the impact perspective (Steps 3 and 4) and the business perspective (Step 5) – we produce the materiality matrix and an accompanying report that clearly explains the methods used and the findings of what is important (material) and why. Note that an accompanying report would explain how to interpret this matrix and would highlight qualitative insights from stakeholder engagements relevant to the topics involved. The report is provided in a format that aligns with your defined scope and objectives.
    
7. Integrate and activate
   This is the stage where findings move from assessment into action. By using the outputs of your materiality assessment to inform your strategy, reporting, governance, and decision-making, your business can turn insight into measurable progress.

Sustainability challenges often require innovation, long-term thinking and a willingness to challenge business-as-usual approaches. By integrating your important topics into planning and decision-making, this allows your business to better respond to stakeholder expectations, strengthen resilience and create long-term value – socially, environmentally, and commercially.

Determining an appropriate materiality review cycle at this stage is also important. This should align with your business’s strategic planning and reporting cycles, while also reflecting the pace of change within your business and the wider space where it operates. A full reassessment is unlikely to be needed every year; however, regular review is important to ensure priorities remain current and relevant. This includes considering whether emerging issues need to be added, reprioritised, or investigated further. We can help you identify factors that can inform your review cycle, keeping the approach practical and proportionate to fit your business.  

Work with the experts

Materiality assessments are most valuable when grounded in the realities of your sector. For New Zealand food businesses, that means understanding market expectations, supply chain pressures, environmental and social impacts, and the sustainability issues that influence trust and long-term resilience. Our team combines deep food system knowledge with practical sustainability and assurance expertise, helping you move from broad ESG topics to clear, credible priorities. 

Contact us to find out how we can support your business with a materiality assessment tailored to your context.