Exploring synergies between sustainability awareness framework (SusAF) and double materiality assessment (DMA)

Abstract

Software-based organizations face significant challenges in DMA due to the intangible nature of software services and rapid technological advancements. Although SusAF offers a comprehensive approach for IROs identification but its adoption remains limited because of its time-consuming process and lack of alignment with ESRS. This research adapts SusAF for ESRS-compliant DMA to enable integrated collaborative IRO identification and regulatory reporting in a single process. Using Design Science Research across seven phases, the study reviewed regulatory documents and academic literature, with validation through focus groups with 5 sustainability experts, 2 RE researchers, and 3 industry practitioners. The enhanced SusAF features a refined question set covering all ESRS topics and a con ceptual methodology with pre- and post-SusAF steps. This methodology achieves 100% DMA compliance despite participant concerns about stakeholder mapping complexity and threshold analysis subjectivity. The study demonstrates that SusAF can be effectively adapted with targeted extensions to meet regulatory standards. Future research should refine the methodology through extensive case studies to enhance scalability and adoption