How Möbius transforms CSRD reporting complexity with Palau

A CONVERSATION WITH
Mathias Fahy
Strategy & Sustainability Expert at Möbius
About
Möbius is an end-to-end consulting partner for CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) implementation, specializing in materiality assessment, gap analysis, and reporting. They focus particularly on E1 climate change and E5 circular economy standards, offering deep implementation capabilities alongside their advisory services.
Industry
Management Consulting
Company size
50-250
Headquarters
Sint Martens-Latem, Gent
Key services
Materiality Assessment
CSRD Reporting
Gap Analysis
Implementation Support
Solution
Use Palau as the central platform for managing CSRD reporting requirements, bringing structure and efficiency to the reporting process while enabling better collaboration with clients.
Challenge
Möbius was struggling with a fragmented and manual approach to CSRD reporting, relying heavily on Microsoft Suite tools. Their process involved:
  1. Multiple Excel spreadsheets
  1. Word reporting templates
  1. Powerpoint presentations for workshops
  1. Manual email exchanges for collaboration
This led to inefficiencies and challenges:
  1. Lack of robust change management
  1. Disconnected templates requiring constant updates
  1. Time-intensive processes (20-25 days for DME materiality assessment, 35-40 days for report drafting)
  1. High complexity in managing disclosure requirements
Results
  1. Structured Disclosure Management: All ESRS requirements consolidated in one navigable platform
  1. Improved Material Assessment: Easy differentiation between material and non-material disclosure requirements
  1. Enhanced Collaboration: Lower threshold for client participation in the reporting process
  1. Audit Trail Integration: Better documentation and change tracking for auditor review
  1. Knowledge Transfer: Ability to transition CSRD reporting capability to clients effectively

The Möbius Story

Before implementing Palau, Möbius managed CSRD reporting through disparate tools and manual processes. "We relied a lot on the simple Microsoft suite," explains Matthias. "Our processes were supported by Excel, email exchanges, and Word reporting templates. It was a fairly manual process, also at the customer side."

The complexity of CSRD reporting posed significant challenges. For smaller companies, the materiality assessment alone could take 20-22 days, while larger organizations might require 50-55 days. Report drafting could extend to 40 days for a comprehensive sustainability report.

The Palau Moment

What drew Möbius to Palau was its ability to bring structure to the complex world of CSRD reporting. "The biggest added value was to have all the disclosure requirements in one platform where you could easily understand what they meant," says Matthias. "You could easily discern between material disclosure requirements and what are not."

How Möbius Uses Palau

Structured Reporting Framework

Möbius uses Palau as their central platform for managing CSRD requirements. The platform's structure helps them navigate complex disclosure requirements more efficiently than traditional PDF documents and Excel sheets.

Audit Support

While the CSRD auditing process are still evolving, Palau's capabilities support audit preparation through:

  • Integrated mapping tables for material disclosure requirements
  • Built-in audit trail functionality
  • Centralized documentation management

Client Collaboration

"That's one of the reasons why we decided to migrate to the solution," Matthias explains. "When we were working in Excel and Word, the templates were ours and the threshold to get a customer into one of our templates was huge. Now we can add people to the platform."

Looking Ahead

Möbius sees their partnership with Palau as key to their future in CSRD consulting. "We're a management consultant, so we try to help customers improve," reflects Matthias. "We actually hope that through the reporting we can go back to our natural state of actually working with companies to build strategies and policies and action plans that matter without just focusing on the reporting of them."

The team believes that with Palau's structured approach, they can maintain the spirit of CSRD while making the process more efficient and valuable for their clients. As CSRD requirements evolve, Möbius is positioned to help their clients not just comply, but truly improve their sustainability practices.