Thermo Fisher Scientific & EY Strike ESG Partnership
World-leading laboratory supply and biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific is partnerning with EY, to help it prepare for new Europe-wide ESG regulations.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) demands a shift in sustainability reporting, and sets new standards and requirements for companies to disclose information on ESG impacts, risks and opportunities.
EY is supporting Thermo Fisher in identifying potential disclosure gaps as it prepares for its first CSRD-compliant report. Early preparation is important, to allow Thermo Fisher to comply with the new regulations.
The standards address an extensive set of qualitative and quantitative sustainability disclosures and CSRD greatly increases the volume and rigour of reporting. It also mandates external assurance to increase trust and comparability.
The EC sees CSRD as key to enhancing future transparency and driving corporate change across key issues, including climate change, human rights, circular economy, gender equality and microplastics. It is one of a raft of ESG-related regulations emerging around the world including the EU Deforestation Act, US SEC Climate Rule and the UK’s Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting policy.
Partnerships are cited by many companies as an essential part of the sustainability journey and, as a Fortune 100 company, Thermo Fisher is able to scale its impact even further through global partnerships.
Thermo Fisher & EY partner on CSRD
“The partnership between Thermo Fisher and EY centres around learning together,” says Chris Shanahan, VP Global Sustainability Supply Chain at Thermo Fisher Scientific.
He added: “I think it's the first time I've been through a process where we're making the playbook up as we go along because it's a new playbook. We're both learning and taking feedback and it's been very constructive. But companies shouldn't underestimate the work that's involved with CSRD.”
Lucy Godshall, Principal, EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services, said: “We’ve developed a great partnership with Thermo Fisher, serving as their technical advisor on ESG-related regulation such as the EU CSRD.
“It definitely takes a village and we are learning together as we go, navigating the complexities of the EU CSRD while considering the implications to Thermo Fisher. Our approach has been grounded in collaboration and inclusion, bringing key stakeholders at Thermo Fisher along the journey to assess the impact on their strategy and operations.”
She added: “CSRD is a game changer for sustainability reporting, particularly for companies based in the US like Thermo Fisher who have significant European operations and will have to report against the EU's European Sustainability Reporting Standards.
“While Thermo Fisher has a lot of great sustainability information which they can leverage for their disclosures, CSRD will require disclosure in new and more expansive areas,” Lucy explains. “Our EY team brings core strengths in sustainability and financial reporting to support Thermo Fisher as they evolve their disclosures to meet these new compliance obligations.”
CSRD drives ESG accountability
Godshall continued: “While there is a lot of work to be done to comply with these ESG-related regulations, ultimately the goal is to increase transparency and drive accountability. Our collective success is inherently linked to our ability to transform the way we, as a society, do business in response to the growing stakeholder expectations to protect people and the planet.”
“Meeting the requirements of these ESG regulations will be an opportunity for Thermo Fisher to showcase the initiatives and investments they have made to enable their customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer, particularly with the great work that Chris and team are doing to decarbonise Thermo Fisher’s operations and global value chain.
“Partnerships in sustainability continue to be a driving force for organisations to scale their impact and we’re extremely proud to be working with Thermo Fisher in this space as it aligns with our purpose at EY to build a better working world.”
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