Updated Voluntary Guidelines to Assess the Double Materiality of TIC Companies

TIC Council happy to announce the release of the second version of its Guidelines for Double Materiality Assessment, designed to support TIC companies in aligning with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). These voluntary guidelines offer a comprehensive and practical framework to identify impacts, risks, and opportunities across the TIC sector.

Purpose and Scope

In the continued absence of sector-specific standards for the TIC industry, this updated document provides an enhanced suggested methodology for conducting double materiality assessments. It incorporates feedback received from auditors following the first wave of CSRD reporting, ensuring the guidance reflects market expectations and strengthens sector-wide consistency. TIC Council members have reported positive responses from their auditors, who appreciate the common sector position as a useful reference when assessing individual TIC companies.

The second version introduces several key improvements:

  • A graphic description of the TIC value chain to support a clearer understanding of sector activities.
  • A general explanation of how materiality thresholds are set, drawing on relevant market benchmarks.
  • A clarification that companies contributing less than five per cent of total revenues are not considered material.
  • Practical tools explaining how stakeholder input and feedback should be captured and integrated into the assessment process.

The guidelines continue to classify materiality into two categories:

  • TIC Sector Material: Topics considered universally material across the TIC industry.
  • Company Potentially Material: Topics that may be material depending on factors such as activity mix, geographical presence, stakeholder landscape, and business model.

TIC Council will continue to monitor published double materiality assessments and remains committed to updating these guidelines in future years as needed. We welcome comments from TIC companies and practitioners to ensure the document remains relevant, robust, and reflective of evolving best practice.

Download the guidelines.