Templates and records · Sustainability
Evidence file for sustainability report assurance
The index linking each published figure to its source, its calculation and who reviewed it, so the assurance provider can check it without chasing half the department.
In one sentence
The assurance evidence file links each figure in the sustainability report to its source document, its calculation, its owner and the controls applied; it is good practice because the CSRD requires an auditor or independent provider to give limited assurance on the report, but does not say how the evidence should be prepared.
- Type of information
- Good practice Good practice: external assurance is required by Directive (EU) 2022/2464
- Who fills it in
- Sustainability manager Each data owner provides and signs off their evidence
- When
- While the report is being prepared Complete before the assurance provider’s visit
- How long it is kept
- At least while the report can be reviewed Neither the directive nor the ESRS set a period for working papers; it is wise to keep them with the management report for the year and those for the comparative year.
What the standard requires
What Sustainability demands and what it leaves to your judgement
The CSRD introduced mandatory assurance of sustainability information, at a limited assurance level. The assurance provider reviews the double materiality process, compliance with the ESRS and a sample of data.
No standard prescribes the format of the file. What cuts cost and findings is for every figure to have an owner, a documented source and a prior control, and for everything to be located before the assurance provider arrives.
If the company already verifies its carbon footprint under ISO 14064-3, that evidence is reused for the emissions data.
Structure
Fields the template should include
- Figure published and section of the report
- ESRS requirement it answers
- Source document and system
- Calculation or estimate applied
- Prior control: who reviewed it and when
- Data owner
- Assurance provider’s requests and comments
Example
Example: three lines from the file (fictitious group)
Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.
| Field | Content |
|---|---|
| Scope 1 emissions | 41,300 t CO₂e · inventory prepared under ISO 14064-1 · already verified by an external body in April |
| Water consumption | 1.9 hm³ · meter readings from the six plants · reviewed by the environment team on 30 January |
| Average payment period | 52 days · supplier accounts · reconciled with the notes to the annual accounts |
| Assurance provider’s request | Sample of 25 supplier invoices to check the payment period · delivered within 48 hours |
| Outcome | Assurance report with an unmodified conclusion and one recommendation on the scope 3 estimate |
At the audit
Mistakes auditors commonly flag
- Evidence is hunted down when the assurance provider asks for it.
- Figures with no owner and no prior control.
- Different versions of the same figure in the report and in the accounts.
- The double materiality process, which the assurance provider also reviews, is not documented.
In Kimobox
How this record is kept in Kimobox
- 1Environmental, social and governance indicators are consolidated from the dashboard.
- 2The evidence for each indicator is exported for the external assurance provider.
- 3The sustainability report is prepared with the data already centralised in the system.
- 4The assurance provider can log in with a read-only user.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us before getting started
What is limited assurance?
A level of assurance involving less testing than a financial audit: the assurance provider concludes that nothing has come to their attention indicating that the information is not compliant. It is the level the CSRD requires.
Who can provide assurance on the report?
The statutory auditor or another auditor or, if the Member State allows it when transposing the directive, an accredited independent assurance services provider.
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Sources
Where each figure comes from
References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.
- Directive (EU) 2022/2464 on corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) EUR-Lex · 14 December 2022
- Directive (EU) 2026/470 amending Directive (EU) 2022/2464 as regards sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements EUR-Lex · 26 February 2026
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 to simplify the sustainability reporting standards EUR-Lex · OJ of 21 September 2026; applicable to financial years from 1 January 2027