How can Belgian companies leverage the CSRD to drive marketing value creation?

Details

Supervisors

Lambert, Nicolas

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de gestion, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

This thesis examines how Belgian companies can leverage the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) to create marketing value beyond regulatory compliance. While the CSRD primarily aims to improve transparency, comparability, and accountability in sustainability reporting, it also generates a significant amount of structured ESG data that may support broader organisational objectives. However, many companies still approach the directive mainly as a reporting obligation rather than as a strategic opportunity. The objective of this research is to understand under which conditions ESG data collected through the CSRD can be transformed into organisational value. More specifically, the study explores how companies integrate ESG data into internal processes, decision-making, stakeholder communication, and marketing-related activities. It adopts a qualitative and exploratory approach based on semi-structured interviews conducted with sustainability professionals, consultants, and managers working in Belgian organisations across different sectors. The findings demonstrate that value creation depends less on the availability of ESG data itself than on the organisation’s ability to structure, interpret, and activate this information internally. The research highlights the importance of cross-functional collaboration between sustainability, finance, strategy, and marketing departments. It also shows that marketing and communication functions can play a central role in translating ESG data into credible stakeholder-oriented narratives that support trust, differentiation, and commercial opportunities, particularly in B2B contexts. This thesis also identifies several important challenges, including data complexity, limited internal alignment, resource constraints, and concerns related to greenwashing. Overall, the findings suggest that companies able to integrate ESG data into broader strategic and organisational processes are more likely to transform the CSRD into a driver of long-term value creation. It contributes to the emerging literature linking sustainability reporting, organisational transformation, and strategic marketing, while also providing practical insights for companies facing the implementation of the CSRD.