Double Materiality in Corporate Sustainability: Insights from Italian Companies

This chapter explores the double materiality assessment process, which is a key aspect of sustainability reporting. Through a comparative analysis of three Italian companies that voluntarily undertake the double materiality assessment (DMA), the study analyzes four aspects of such a process that according to literature are critical for the effective integration of DMA in company’s activities. Particularly, these aspects are the objectives that companies aim to achieve by adopting the DMA, the approaches they follow for its implementation, the role of stakeholder engagement in each of the approach adopted, and the organizational units involved in the process. The analysis reveals a nuanced landscape highlighting the differences in the objectives companies aim to achieve that does not limit only to compliance with sustainability reporting standards, in the approaches followed (technical-rational vs. critical-dialogic), and in the role the stakeholders play in the DMA process. As a result, this study contributes to the expanding literature on materiality in the context of sustainability reporting by answering the call for more empirical studies and its results can be used by preparers, auditors, and standard setters for their respective purposes.