Towards a Sustainable Future : An Examination of Corporate Responses to the CSRD in the Real-Estate Sector

Sammanfattning: Research Purpose: The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is a new regulation within the EU thataims to end greenwashing, by aligning existing frameworks, expand the scope including valuechain activities, simplify reporting, and increase comparability of EU firms for investors andstakeholders. The CSRD was established in January 2023, therefore the purpose of this study isto explore and research the CSRD impact and the corporate response of firms subject to itsstandards soon. Research Question: - What are real-estate firms' corporate responses to the CSRD? - How will CSRD impact sustainability work throughout the value chain? Methodology: To answer its research question the study takes a qualitative approach, since thelack of previous research on CSRD, in order to understand the specific context of thephenomena. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with case companies and experts withinthe field of CSRD. Results: The results indicate that firms are positive to the new sustainability reporting that theCSRD proposes, it simplifies previous sustainability reporting but comes with complexities ofadministrative burden and firms having to rethink some processes. Therefore, the firms take animitative response in order to save costs and resources. The case companies perceivesustainability as crucial for survival, but mainly to build legitimacy and cost-efficiency. Thevalue chain implementation poses the biggest challenge for firms, due to lack of availability andcontrol over value chain partners outside of the EU reach.