The Ultimate Guide to CSRD Reporting (incl. Software Comparison)

Why CSRD Is Redefining ESG Reporting in 2025

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is not just another compliance hurdle — it is the new global gold standard for ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) transparency. As sustainability becomes central to strategy, CSRD reporting transforms ESG from a marketing exercise into a verifiable, audited process tied directly to company performance and reputation.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about CSRD, from its legal requirements to the best CSRD software tools available in 2025. Whether you’re a sustainability manager, compliance officer, or executive, you’ll discover practical steps, real case examples, and a software comparison to help your company lead — not lag — in the era of responsible business.

Quick Recap: What Is CSRD and Why It Matters for Your Software Stack

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is the EU’s updated ESG reporting framework, replacing the NFRD. It requires a lot of companies — including many outside the EU — to report on sustainability using standardized formats and the new European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

The key shift? Auditable, detailed, and digital ESG data is no longer optional. You’ll need to:

Report based on double materiality (impact and financial risk)
Cover all ESG pillars in detail
Tag data digitally for machine-readability
Be assurance-ready for third-party audits

This means spreadsheets and scattered systems are no longer enough. You need a CSRD reporting software solution that simplifies data collection, automates compliance with ESRS, and helps you stay ready for ever-evolving regulatory demands.

Next up: what to look for in a CSRD reporting software solution, and how to choose the right one for your company.

How to Choose the Right CSRD Reporting Software (Key Features to Look For)

Choosing the right CSRD reporting software is a strategic decision. You need more than a database — you need a platform that helps you collect, structure, validate, and present data that meets auditable CSRD requirements.

Here are the most important features to look for:

1. Built-In Support for ESRS

Your software should natively support European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) — no complicated workarounds or “DIY” mapping. Look for AI-assisted validation, pre-built templates, and continuous updates aligned with the latest ESRS versions.

2. Fast Onboarding & Import from Existing ESG Reports

You’ve already done work. Your CSRD tool should help you leverage it. Platforms like Planmark let you import your past sustainability reports, map existing data to ESRS, and identify gaps — getting you started quickly without reinventing the wheel.

3. Collaboration & Task Management

CSRD compliance is a team sport. Your platform should include:

User roles and permissions
Task assignments and deadlines
Comments and approvals
Version control and documentation logs

This ensures smooth collaboration between sustainability, finance, HR, and legal teams — especially in larger organizations or multi-entity groups.

4. Real-Time Dashboards & CSRD Monitoring

You need visibility across departments, entities, and KPIs. Top CSRD software includes real-time dashboards, progress tracking, and alerts — helping you stay audit-ready year-round.

5. Audit-Ready Documentation

Ensure the software provides:

Automated audit trails
Approval flows
Evidence management

This makes your external assurance process significantly easier — and much less stressful.

6. AI-Assisted Reporting

Advanced platforms offer:

Validating ESRS disclosures
Automating data ingestion
Create documents for various communication purposes

This isn’t fluff — AI can save your team hundreds of hours and reduce human error.

7. Multi-Entity and Group-Level Reporting

If you operate internationally, the ability to consolidate data by country, subsidiary, or brand is essential. Choose a platform that allows localized ESRS reports but global oversight.

6. Regulatory Updates Included

The CSRD and ESRS evolve constantly. Avoid platforms that charge extra for each update. Top-tier tools, like Planmark, include continuous regulation tracking as part of the package.

💡 Pro Tip: Avoid platforms that only offer “ESG general” tools without full CSRD alignment. Many US-based ESG platforms still lack native ESRS support, which leads to workarounds and manual fixes.

CSRD Reporting Software Comparison: 2025 Edition

Not all ESG tools are created equal — and not all of them are truly CSRD-ready. Below is a side-by-side comparison of the most relevant CSRD software tools in 2025, focusing specifically on their ability to handle the unique requirements of ESRS, double materiality, and auditable documentation.

This list includes top CSRD compliance software solutions chosen for their features, usability, AI capabilities, and support levels.

Note: All tools listed support EU CSRD compliance and allow for structured environmental, social, and governance reporting.

Top CSRD Software Tools Compared

csrd reporting software comparison

Key Insights from the Comparison

According our customers, Planmark CSRD Suite stands out for its simplicity, built-in ESRS guidance, and real-time compliance tracking — ideal for companies looking for lean, audit-ready reporting without needing a full ESG consulting team.
Workiva ESG is a strong contender for large corporations already using integrated GRC or financial platforms, but can be overkill (and overpriced) for smaller or mid-sized firms.
Envoria and Position Green offer regional strengths (especially in the EU and Nordics), while Datamaran leans heavily into AI for risk assessment and large-scale enterprise ESG initiatives.
Cority ESG brings industrial expertise, particularly for companies prioritizing environmental reporting software for CSRD, though it lacks some of the new ESRS-native features.

Choosing the Best CSRD Software for Your Organization

If your company is navigating CSRD compliance for the first time, ask yourself:

Do we need quick wins or deep customisation?
Will we manage reporting in-house or rely on external advisors?
How many entities, subsidiaries, or countries are involved?
Is double materiality already mapped — or do we need help?

For many organizations, a lightweight, CSRD-native tool like Planmark is ideal. It provides everything needed for compliance — without bloated features or outdated legacy systems.

Next Step: Want a free walkthrough of a real CSRD software solution? [Book a demo with Planmark]

How to Implement CSRD Reporting (Step-by-Step Strategy)

You’ve chosen your CSRD reporting software. Now what?

Here’s a clear, actionable roadmap to implement CSRD reporting — from scoping to submitting your first compliant report.

Step 1: Confirm Your CSRD Obligations

Start by checking:

Your company size and location (EU or non-EU)
Whether you’re part of a listed group
When your CSRD deadline hits (many start from FY2024 or FY2025)

Pro Tip: Non-EU companies with EU subsidiaries must often comply too — use your csrd management software to tag entities and track local vs. group-level reporting.

Step 2: Run a Double Materiality Assessment

Double materiality is the backbone of CSRD. You’ll need to assess:

Impact materiality: How your company affects society and the environment
Financial materiality: How sustainability risks affect your financial outlook

Your CSRD software should guide you through stakeholder mapping, survey tools, and visual materiality matrices. Avoid trying to run this via spreadsheets — it’s audit-sensitive and time-intensive.

Step 3: Import Existing Sustainability Data

Leverage what you’ve already done. A Modern csrd software tool should let you import:

Past GRI or SASB reports
Carbon accounting tools
DEI tracking from HR systems
Financials from your ERP

Platforms like Planmark even help you automatically ingest this data to ESRS fields and highlight what’s missing. This feature alone saves hundreds of working hours.

Step 4: Assign Roles and Set Up Collaboration

As we all know, CSRD isn’t owned by just one department — it’s a cross-functional effort. Use the task and workflow tools in your software to:

Decentralize data collection across the organization’s various entities
Assign owners to each disclosure
Track deadlines and approvals
Collaborate across departments with full version history

Easily assign tasks to any team member.

Step 5: Begin Data Collection and Monitoring

Set up automated or manual data feeds for:

Carbon emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3)
Gender equality and diversity metrics
Water use, energy efficiency, governance structures

Use real-time dashboards in your CSRD software to monitor completion status and compliance gaps.

csrd software managemenet dashboard

Step 6: Generate Your CSRD Report

Using your chosen csrd reporting software, compile your disclosures into an ESRS-compliant report, including:

Mandatory and sector-specific indicators
Narrative sections (some platforms offer AI assistance here)
Digital tagging for machine readability (XBRL)

Make sure it’s designed for clarity and transparency. Bonus if your platform helps with formatting and publishing.

Step 7: Get Assurance-Ready

CSRD reports require limited assurance now, and reasonable assurance later. Your software should:

Provide an audit trail for all inputs
Allow for comment logs and evidence uploads
Create assurance checklists by ESRS section

Final Tip: Start Small, Scale Smart

You don’t need to solve everything in year one. CSRD is a journey — and the right csrd software tool helps you grow from a basic report to a benchmark-setting sustainability leader. All the data is now in a secure place and easily manageable.

The Role of AI in CSRD Reporting: From Overwhelm to Automation

Let’s be honest: CSRD reporting is complex. Hundreds of mandatory data points. Double materiality. ESG narratives. Third-party assurance. Sound overwhelming? That’s where AI-powered CSRD software changes everything.

Here’s how smart platforms use artificial intelligence to make CSRD compliance faster, more accurate, and far less stressful:

1. AI-Assisted Tagging to ESRS Standards

Instead of manually mapping each KPI to ESRS disclosure points, Planmark uses AI-assisted suggestions to help you find the most relevant matches — quickly and accurately. You stay in control, but the system highlights the likely tags based on your uploaded data and previous reporting patterns.

2. Natural Language Generation for ESG Narratives

Need to write qualitative disclosures about policies, processes, and risks? AI can draft first versions based on your uploaded documentation — from HR policies to environmental strategies. You just add in your insights and details.

You retain full editorial control, but save time getting started with high-quality drafts tailored to each ESRS topic. This really saves your valuable time for more valuable tasks.

3. Smart Compliance Scoring & ESG Coverage Analysis

AI doesn’t just collect data — it reads your responses across the ESRS framework and gives a compliance readiness score from 0 to 100 for each section.

This lets you instantly see:

How well your answers match ESRS expectations
Where you have strong coverage
Which areas need more detail or documentation

⚡ With clear scoring and visual breakdowns, your team can focus effort where it matters most — and move from reactive compliance to confident, proactive ESG reporting.

4. Learning From Other Reports (Securely)

Some platforms use AI trained on thousands of anonymized sustainability reports. This lets them recommend:

Disclosure phrasing that passes audits
Metrics used by your peers
Common mistakes to avoid

Think of it as having a CSRD-savvy assistant who’s read every ESG report ever published.

5. Secure Automation Without the Bloat

Importantly, AI features in leading CSRD compliance software are focused — they’re not trying to manage photos or marketing copy (unlike bloated ESG suites with DAM features you’ll never use).

Planmark, for example, uses AI only where it matters:

Mapping your existing data
Speeding up tagging and report generation
Monitoring regulation changes
Offering quality suggestions — without taking control away

Bottom line: AI won’t replace your ESG team — but it will turn 100 hours of spreadsheet wrestling into 10 hours of strategic oversight.

Case Studies: How Real Companies Are Using CSRD Software Successfully

Choosing a CSRD reporting software tool is one thing — but seeing how it works in the real world? That’s where confidence comes from. Here are three examples of companies that turned CSRD compliance from a burden into a competitive advantage.

Case 1: Manufacturing Group, Multi-Country Operations

Challenge: A mid-sized industrial group with 5 entities across 3 EU countries struggled with fragmented ESG reporting, outdated Excel templates, and no clarity on ESRS requirements.

Solution: They implemented Planmark CSRD Suite. Within 2 weeks:

Imported their existing sustainability data and the report they had been preparing
Used AI-assisted tools to map all data in correct data points.
Assigned CSRD tasks across departments using built-in collaboration features

Results:

Their first draft report was 90% complete within 6 weeks
They passed limited assurance with zero major revisions
Internal sustainability awareness skyrocketed

🔍 Key takeaway: Centralized data and collaborative workflows transformed compliance into a growth-focused ESG strategy.

Case 2: Food Manufacturer Scaling Exports and Facing CSRD Deadlines

Challenge: A mid-sized European food manufacturing company was rapidly expanding into new markets and needed to comply with CSRD — but had no internal ESG team and limited prior experience with sustainability reporting.

Solution: They implemented an AI-assisted CSRD software tool to streamline the process:

Uploaded existing quality, HR, and environmental documentation
Received real-time guidance and scoring on how well their data aligned with ESRS requirements
Used the built-in tools to assign tasks across departments (production, HR, legal) and track reporting progress

Results:

Cut internal cost by 70%
Produced a full CSRD draft report in under three months
Presented supplier responsibility and carbon footprint data to international buyers — boosting transparency and credibility

🔍 Key takeaway: Even without a dedicated ESG team, manufacturers can meet CSRD demands — and turn compliance into a competitive edge — with the right software and collaboration tools.

Case 3: EU Retailer With Group-Level ESG Reporting

Challenge: A retail brand managing 80+ locations needed a solution to:

Collect ESG data across countries
Monitor compliance by entity
Report both locally and group-wide under CSRD

Solution: With Planmark’s built-in csrd monitoring software and entity segmentation, they:

Automated monthly carbon, energy, and DEI data input
Used custom dashboards to track ESRS alignment for each country
Produced a group-level report with auto-generated entity breakdowns

Results:

Created consistent data flows across 4 markets
Prepared for 2025 CSRD deadlines well ahead of time
Strengthened investor trust through transparency

🔍 Key takeaway: Structured CSRD tools scale effortlessly across geographies and brands.

Ready to Make CSRD Reporting Easy, Accurate, Collaborative, and Audit-Proof?

You don’t need an army of consultants or a year-long project to get CSRD-ready. With the right software, you can:

Simplify double materiality
Automate data collection and ESRS tagging
Collaborate seamlessly across teams and departments
Track your progress in real time
Generate a credible, professional report — fast

Planmark CSRD Suite was built for companies that want to take control of their sustainability reporting — without complexity, silos, or spreadsheet chaos.

What You’ll Get with Planmark:

Built-in ESRS compliance and double materiality tools
AI-assisted data mapping and report generation
Task assignments, approval flows, and full version control
Real-time dashboards and compliance monitoring
Centralized workspace for sustainability, HR, finance, and legal teams
No bloat. No unnecessary features. Just the essentials — fast, clean, and collaborative.

Let’s make CSRD reporting the easiest part of your ESG strategy.

The Ultimate Guide to CSRD Reporting (incl. Software Comparison)

Why CSRD Is Redefining ESG Reporting in 2025

Quick Recap: What Is CSRD and Why It Matters for Your Software Stack