Start the materiality assessment

Steps

1. 1

   Open Materiality

   In ESG and Carbon select Materiality. A double materiality assessment rates each ESG topic twice: for its impact on people and the planet, and for its financial effect on the company. Nothing has been started yet, so the screen shows one button, Start assessment.

   • Select Materiality
2. 2

   Select Start assessment

   Select Start assessment. A box asks for the Year, already filled with 2026. The switch underneath copies the topics and stakeholder groups from last year's assessment when there is one; this is the first, so it has no effect.

   • Select Start assessment
3. 3

   Confirm with Start assessment

   Select Start assessment in the box. Version 1 is created with the status Draft. It comes with sixteen standard topics, taken from the GRI and European reporting standards, and six stakeholder groups.

   • Select Start assessment
4. 4

   Read the Topics list

   Scroll to Topics. Each line is a subject with its pillar, Environmental, Social or Governance, and its references in the GRI standards and the European standards, shown as ESRS. Impact and Financial are empty until ratings arrive, and Result says Not material for now.

5. 5

   Remove a topic that cannot apply

   Meridian Souq trades from city shops and owns no land, so Biodiversity and ecosystems cannot apply. Select the bin icon, Remove, at the end of that line. The line disappears, and the change waits for Save.

   • Select Remove
6. 6

   Add a topic of your own

   Under the list, type Sustainable packaging in Custom topic. Open Pillar and choose Environmental. In GRI type the reference if there is one, here GRI 301, the standard on materials. Then select Add. The new topic joins the list, marked Custom.

   • Type Custom topic: Sustainable packaging
   • Select Pillar
   • Choose Environmental
   • Select Add
7. 7

   Save the topics

   Scroll back to the top of the Topics box and select Save. A confirmation, Saved, appears. The heading still counts sixteen topics: one removed, one added.

   • Select Save

   

8. 8

   Give the Customers group more weight

   Scroll to Stakeholder groups, thresholds and methodology. Each group has a Weight, which is how much its ratings count in the impact score. All start at 1. A retailer lives by its customers, so change the weight beside Customers to 2.

   • Type Weight: 2
9. 9

   Add a stakeholder group

   Shopping centre owners set rules for energy and waste in their malls, so add them. Type Mall landlords in New group name and select the plus button beside it. The group appears with a weight of 1. The bin icon beside any group removes it.

   • Type New group name: Mall landlords
   • Select Add
10. 10

    Check the two thresholds

    Impact threshold and Financial threshold are the scores, on a scale of 1 to 5, at which a topic counts as material. Both start at 3.5, a common choice. Leave them unless your method says otherwise, and never change them after seeing the results.

11. 11

    Describe the method

    In Methodology write how you collected the ratings, the scale you used and how the thresholds were set. An auditor reads this to judge whether the assessment can be trusted.

    • Type How stakeholders were engaged, the scales used and how thresholds were: Online survey of the customer panel and an employee survey in Septembe…
12. 12

    Save the groups, thresholds and methodology

    Select Save at the top of this box. A confirmation, Saved, appears. The assessment is now ready for ratings, which the next lesson records.

    • Select Save
13. 13

    Check the version and status

    Scroll back to the top. Version shows the year, the version number and the status, Draft. The Materiality matrix says none of the sixteen topics is material yet, because no ratings have been entered. Mark complete stays for the end of the next lesson.