Overcoming Regional Challenges in Sustainability Reporting for Global Companies

Nordex Global has been connecting with customers across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe and one pattern keeps showing up in almost every conversation: companies are not struggling because they do not care about sustainability. They are struggling because everyone is asking for something different.

A European buyer asks for CSRD aligned reporting. A multinational customer wants IFRS Sustainability disclosures. A procurement team wants an EcoVadis score. An internal team is already using GRI because it is familiar and practical. Many companies end up trying to do all of them at once, using scattered spreadsheets and ad hoc data requests that exhaust teams and still do not satisfy stakeholders.

This is where Nordex Global has built its approach: helping companies identify what framework matters for their business, build a clean data backbone, and turn that data into the right outputs for customers, auditors, and leadership.

What Nordex Global sees across regions

Asia

Many small and mid sized manufacturers and exporters are facing increasing pressure from European customers. They often already provide some environmental data such as electricity and fuel usage, but they do not have a structured way to connect it to a framework or buyer requirement. They also face practical constraints: limited staff time, limited systems, and no dedicated sustainability team.

Middle East

Many companies are scaling rapidly and supply chains are becoming more international. ESG requests often come through investor relations, joint venture partners, or global customers. The challenge is usually consistency: different departments hold different pieces of data, and no one owns a single version of the truth.

Europe

The pressure is more formal and deadline driven. CSRD and investor expectations push companies toward structured, auditable reporting. Even when companies are more mature, they still struggle with value chain data, supplier coverage, and turning ESG reporting into a management tool rather than a compliance exercise.

Across all regions, the core issue is the same: multiple frameworks, overlapping requirements, and no clear way to decide what to do first.

The four ESG frameworks Nordex Global sees most often

CSRD

CSRD is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, an EU regulation that requires in scope companies to report sustainability information in a structured way, using European Sustainability Reporting Standards.

What it focuses on:Double materiality, meaning impact on society and environment plus financial risks and opportunities. Detailed disclosures across environment, social, and governance. Value chain information, including suppliers. More structured governance and controls around reporting

Why companies care: Even if a company is not directly required to report, its European customers may request CSRD aligned data to complete their own reporting.

IFRS Sustainability

This refers to IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board. It is designed to standardize sustainability disclosures for investors, with a strong focus on how sustainability affects enterprise value.

What it focuses on:S1 general sustainability risks and opportunitiesS2 climate related disclosures, Investor grade, decision useful information. Governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets

Why companies care: It is increasingly used in capital markets and by large global companies that want consistent reporting across countries.

EcoVadis

EcoVadis is a sustainability rating system widely used in procurement. Many buyers use it to assess suppliers and decide who gets contracts, renewals, or preferred supplier status.

What it focuses on: Environment, Labor and human rights, Ethics Sustainable procurement

Why companies care: It directly affects sales pipelines and procurement outcomes. Many suppliers feel it as the fastest commercial pressure point.

GRI

GRI is the Global Reporting Initiative, one of the most widely used voluntary sustainability reporting standards. It is practical, stakeholder oriented, and often used as a foundation for a company’s broader ESG reporting.

What it focuses on: A broad range of impacts across environment and people. Topic based standards that can be selected based on materiality. Clear disclosures that work well for annual sustainability reports

Why companies care: It is flexible and easier to start with, especially for small and mid sized companies building their first structured ESG reporting cycle.

Why these frameworks feel confusing to companies

They overlap, but they are not identical.

CSRD is regulatory and very detailed, IFRS is investor oriented and focused on financial materiality, EcoVadis is a commercial scorecard used by buyers, GRI is stakeholder oriented and flexible.

So when a customer says “we need ESG data,” they might mean one of these, or a mix of them. Nordex Global helps companies translate those requests into a clear plan.

How Nordex Global helps companies choose what is suitable

Nordex Global uses a simple principle: do not start with a framework. Start with demand and risk.

Nordex Global typically helps clients map: Customer and buyer requirements by region and by key accounts. Regulatory exposure, including EU market dependence and CSRD pressure from customers, Investor and lender expectations if relevant. Current internal maturity and available data.

From there, Nordex Global guides a practical decision: If your priority is keeping European customers, focus on CSRD aligned data packs and value chain readiness If your priority is procurement competitiveness, focus on EcoVadis readiness and evidence packs If your priority is investor credibility, focus on IFRS S1 and S2 disclosures and governance narrative If you want a solid, credible public report, use GRI as a reporting backbone

Most companies end up with a staged approach rather than choosing only one.

How Nordex Global helps collect the right ESG data

Nordex Global builds a structured data model that works across frameworks, so clients collect once and report many times.

Step 1: Define what data matters

Nordex Global helps define a KPI library based on the client’s industry, customer requirements, and realistic availability.

Typical data categories include: Energy and electricity usage, by site. Fuel usage and logistics data - Emissions Scope 1 and 2, and priority Scope 3 categories - Water and waste metrics. Health and safety statistics, Workforce profile and training Policies, governance, ethics, and grievance mechanisms- Supplier screening and audits

Step 2: Create an auditable data collection process

Nordex Global sets up: Data owners by department, Data definitions and calculation rules Evidence requirements like invoices, meter logs, payroll records, training records.. A monthly or quarterly data collection rhythm

This solves the most common ESG issue: numbers that cannot be traced back to evidence.

Step 3: Build reporting ready outputs

Nordex Global then converts the same underlying data into different formats depending on the need: CSRD aligned customer data packs, IFRS S1 and S2 style board narratives and metrics tables, EcoVadis documentation and policy evidence packs, GRI aligned disclosures and sustainability report content

How Nordex Global helps show the data clearly

Data alone does not convince buyers or leadership. Nordex Global turns ESG information into decision friendly visuals and structured packs, such as: Executive dashboards with year on year trends, KPI cards with definitions and evidence references, Targets and progress tracking tables, Risk and opportunity mapping tied to operations, Supplier ESG overview tables for procurement teams

This makes ESG reporting usable, not just presentable.

The outcome for clients

When companies work with Nordex Global, the goal is not to overwhelm them with frameworks. The goal is to make ESG manageable and commercially useful.

Clients gain: A clear answer to which frameworks matter most for their business. A single data backbone that reduces repeated reporting work. Credible evidence that satisfies buyer audits and assessments. Board ready ESG packs that help leadership make decisions. A structured roadmap to expand from basics into full value chain readiness

In a market where customers across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe are asking for ESG in different formats, Nordex Global helps companies respond with confidence: one structured system, multiple outputs, and a clear path from compliance to competitive advantage.