Danish Firms Lead the Charge in ESG Reporting, But Full CSRD Compliance Remains a Tough Climb

Key Takeaways

• CSRD Compliance Challenge: Achieving full CSRD compliance remains a complex task for companies, with no company achieving 100% compliance yet.
• Key Areas of Struggle: Companies face significant gaps in reporting on sustainability transformation investments, climate resilience plans, and pollution (E2) metrics.
• AI-Driven Efficiency: AI tools, like E-V-E GRC’s AI Compliance Manager, are proving essential in improving the efficiency and consistency of ESG reporting, enabling more strategic decision-making.
• Denmark Leading but Facing Hurdles: Danish companies have taken the lead in CSRD compliance but must continue to evolve their reporting practices and sustain their commitment to sustainability.
• From Reporting to Action: The CSRD’s impact goes beyond just reporting; it requires companies to translate their disclosures into actionable plans with clear budgets, timelines, and measurable impacts.

Deep Dive

The wave of ESG reporting triggered by the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is sweeping across Europe, with Denmark leading the charge. But while Danish companies are ahead of the curve, a new analysis reveals that achieving full compliance remains an ambitious and complex goal, even for the early movers.

A joint AI-powered benchmark analysis conducted by KPMG Denmark and Evolve, using E-V-E GRC’s AI Compliance Manager, reveals how companies are performing under the new reporting regime and where significant work remains.

The study goes beyond traditional benchmarking by assessing ESG disclosures at the individual data point level, covering over 500 metrics across the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The conclusion is clear—no company has achieved 100% compliance, and wide variations remain in what is being reported.

“Achieving full CSRD compliance is a formidable challenge,” says Anders Søborg, Co-CEO of E-V-E GRC. “With hundreds of requirements, companies need to ensure their disclosures are consistent, credible, and complete. Tools like E-V-E help streamline that process, offering a practical way to monitor alignment across all ESG dimensions.”

Companies excelled in disclosing quantitative metrics, thanks largely to pre-existing voluntary ESG reporting practices, but struggled in critical qualitative areas.

Overall Compliance Levels by Category

The biggest compliance gaps were found in:

• Investments in Sustainability Transformation: Most companies failed to report clearly on operating and capital expenditure plans tied to sustainability initiatives, with disclosure scores averaging below 50%.
• Climate Resilience & Transition Plans: Only a few firms detailed how they plan to transition to a low-carbon model or evaluated their exposure to climate-related risks, raising concerns about strategic readiness.
• Pollution (E2) Reporting: The lowest average score across all ESRS categories, indicating significant difficulty in tracking pollution impacts.

The frequency of the standards in scope:

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“We're still in the early phases of CSRD adoption,” explained Christian Møllegaard Larsen, ESG Partner at KPMG Denmark. “While many companies have taken meaningful steps, achieving full compliance demands more than ticking boxes—it requires integrated processes, clear materiality judgments, and strong documentation to support disclosures. Much of this won't appear directly in the annual report but is still subject to external audit scrutiny.”

Denmark Sets the Pace, But Challenges Are Universal

Despite these hurdles, Danish companies, especially those on the top index for listed companies, have demonstrated leadership. Most of the first CSRD-compliant reports published on the EU’s Sustainability Reporting Navigator (SRN) came from Denmark in early 2025, showing a strong early commitment. Yet, the pace at which these disclosures mature will now define real leadership.

“We’ve seen an impressive commitment from Danish businesses, but the hard part is sustaining and deepening that effort,” says Anders Søborg, Co-Founder of E-V-E GRC. “CSRD isn’t a one-time exercise, it’s a continuous compliance process that touches every part of the business.”

Strategic Use of AI Offers a Path Forward

AI is making a significant impact on ESG reporting and compliance. In this study, AI helped evaluate metrics across various ESG areas consistently, making a traditionally complex, time-intensive process much more efficient. This shift to automation also means that teams can focus more on strategic decision-making, rather than getting bogged down by repetitive compliance tasks. The result is not just a more efficient process, but one that offers greater transparency and consistency in meeting regulatory requirements.

“Using technology for ESG and general compliance is quickly becoming the new normal,” Christian Møllegaard Larsen, ESG Partner at KPMG Denmark adds. “As one of the leading global professional advisory and assurance firms, we use a wide range of tools, and E-V-E has proven to be a valuable support system. AI has matured, and companies should leverage these tools to maintain a competitive edge.”

From Reporting to Real Change

The CSRD is more than a regulatory requirement, it is a signal of Europe’s intention to embed sustainability deeply into corporate DNA. For companies, the challenge lies not just in reporting data but in using that data to drive real transformation.

A major test ahead is demonstrating how ESG disclosures translate into action plans with allocated budgets, timelines, and measurable impacts. Without this, even high-quality reports risk being dismissed as superficial.

Denmark’s early CSRD adoption positions it as a role model, but the road to full compliance is still under construction. Companies must continue evolving, both in their reporting sophistication and in their strategic commitment to sustainability.

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