“Sustainability comes with a significant regulatory burden, but I believe that with a different perspective, you can actually benefit from it. Rules are the lines of a playing field where entrepreneurs can seize opportunities.”
Edwin Vogel, audit partner, chartered accountant, and sustainability specialist at Joanknecht, began his career in 1994 at a Big Four firm. His plan was to transition into the business sector after three to five years. However, things turned out differently: Edwin has now spent 30 years in the accountancy profession. Since 2004, he has practiced — still with great enthusiasm — at Joanknecht. He has also been a lecturer in External Reporting at Nyenrode Business University for many years and since June 1, 2024 he is Chairman of the Board of the international association PrimeGlobal.
Edwin’s passion for sustainability began in the 1990s, but it gained momentum after two key events in 2015: the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations and the presentation of the Paris Agreement. “It was a turning point,” Edwin says. “Globally — and especially in Europe — there was a realisation: ‘We have burdened and depleted the planet to such an extent that we can’t sustain it any longer. We need to do something together.’”
With the introduction of new European regulations on sustainability reporting, Joanknecht decided to fully commit to this topic. As a dynamic advisory firm, it aims to remain capable of guiding SMEs through every stage of their entrepreneurial journey. The logical first step: putting Edwin at the helm. His broad experience makes him the right person to focus on sustainability in general and sustainability reporting in particular. As a lecturer at Nyenrode, he has been teaching students for years about the laws and regulations around preparing financial statements — and sustainability reporting will become more and more an integral part of that. In his lectures, the topic has become a frequent discussion point.
After the EU Green Deal was adopted and it became clear that sustainability reporting would become mandatory for many companies, Edwin was given the time and space within Joanknecht to deeply explore sustainability reporting. The goal: to develop the necessary competencies within the organisation to help clients navigate this area. Not just to meet legal requirements, but also to seize strategic opportunities.
Edwin’s unique view of regulations is particularly useful here. Where many see regulations as external pressure, Edwin sees them as the boundaries of a playing field, providing freedom of choice within. “With the new sustainability regulations, a lot is coming at entrepreneurs,” he says. “But these rules also offer a fantastic opportunity to strengthen and future-proof your business. That’s exactly what we’ve been aiming to do at Joanknecht for over 75 years: preparing organisations for the future. Many of our clients are family businesses that share this vision. At both Joanknecht and these businesses, it’s about continuity and the bigger picture: it’s not about short-term profit, but about passing something valuable on to the next generation. And that is also a form of sustainability.”
“I believe it’s important to do what I can, when I can”
Edwin gains energy from making regulations manageable for clients and colleagues, but that’s not the main reason he has focused on sustainability. “I am very aware of what we, as humanity, have done up until now, especially in Western Europe and North America,” he says. “We’ve been living beyond our means. And we’re still doing it. We have a responsibility to bring things back into balance, as much as we can. I may not be able to change everything, but I believe it’s important to do what I can, when I can. That was my intrinsic motivation to specialise further in this area.”
The desire to contribute to a sustainable future is also deeply felt at Joanknecht. The organisation actively focuses on legacy. “We certainly want to last another 75 years,” Edwin explains. “The next generation must be able to seamlessly take over our organisation and build on the same vision, so that the generation after them can continue to build upon it. That’s a deeply held belief here. We use the word ‘stewardship’ for that.”
The theme of ‘sustainability’ is naturally embedded in this philosophy, especially when you consider that it covers a wide range of subtopics. “Sustainability reports aren’t just about CO2 emissions,” Edwin explains, “but also many other things. Think about preventing child or slave labour in your value chain, how you engage with your suppliers, and how you conduct business in countries where the moral standards might be different. This makes sustainability reporting complex and challenging, but also incredibly relevant. With future-proofing in mind, we at Joanknecht find these topics very important. That’s why we believe we can and must help our clients with sustainability reporting.”
But, Edwin adds, you can only create good reporting if you gather a lot of knowledge about the overarching concept of ‘sustainability’. That’s why he and his colleagues have embarked on a new path, one that has its challenges: “We’ve got a lot coming at us, and there’s still a lot we need to discover. It can be exciting at times, but also challenging. There are moments when I think: how are we going to tackle this? But fortunately, I’m not alone in this.”
Edwin is referring to the project team Joanknecht has set up for this purpose. It consists of himself, Quinten Kolvenbach (partner and team leader), Lilian Seegers (HR manager), and Max Broekhuizen (partner and ESG project leader). This four-person team, equipped with all the necessary competencies, is currently exploring several paths simultaneously. “We have to make a lot of decisions, even though not everything is crystal clear yet,” Edwin explains. “Right now, I’m mostly focused on gathering knowledge. For example, I recently completed an additional course at the University of Groningen. What I learned there, I’m already applying to enhance ongoing client projects. In the meantime, we’re having conversations with both our large and small clients. This allows us to hear what they need and where the overlaps between them are. We’re also speaking with educational institutions to see where we can help each other.”
Joanknecht is also already providing internal training, because just like in our other disciplines, it’s clear that our ESG services must be top quality. Edwin: “Our ESG team is now in full development. Many colleagues are enthusiastic and eager to contribute. For them, too, it’s about gaining knowledge that they can immediately apply with clients. Developments are happening fast, so we have to do a lot at once.”
“We start with your business strategy and business model”
What exactly does the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) require? “This European law states that companies must start creating a sustainability report,” Edwin explains. “The CSRD is outlined in 12 standards: the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRSs). In presentations to clients, I often explain that these contain various disclosure requirements. When I mention that these are broken down into 1,178 data points, we’ve pretty much hit the lowest point in the presentation! I deliberately lead up to this, because from there I can explain how to handle it practically. As a result, people often (cautiously) become enthusiastic afterwards.”
The question Edwin often hears at this point is: “Isn’t there an Excel file that lists all these points so we can just tick them off?” The answer seems simple: yes, that file exists. But, Edwin warns, that’s not how you want to work as an organisation: “That’s how you really lose sight of the bigger picture. And it’s probably the most demotivating Excel file you can imagine.”
That’s why Edwin recommends a more constructive approach: “We start with your business strategy and business model. From there, we determine what’s relevant for you.”
This often leads to another question: “Do we really need to work on this?”
For around 50,000 companies in Europe, there is a legal obligation. But even if you’re not in that group, there are still interesting reasons to create a sustainability report. First, there’s an indirect necessity: companies that are required to create a report must include information about their value chain. If you’re a supplier in that chain, you can expect to receive questions, for example, about carbon emissions and labour relations. “Depending on your partnerships, you might get the same question five or six times,” Edwin explains. “With a report, you can respond to information requests faster and more efficiently.”
Additionally, banks and other financial backers are becoming increasingly critical of the activities they finance. “Legislation forces them to invest as much as possible in sustainable activities,” Edwin adds.
But it may also be wise to create a sustainability report with your own company in mind. Edwin: “Many companies have an intrinsic motivation. If your product or service fits into the sustainability mindset, I say: why not talk about it? An annual report is a great way to inform your clients and suppliers about it.”
The opposite is also possible: “Some companies know they have a business model that won’t be sustainable in the long term. In that case, you could retreat quietly and wait for the storm to pass. But that moment is unlikely to come. You can also take the leap and create a transition plan to make your business more sustainable. Through an annual report, you can share your progress with the outside world.”
“The input must come from the heart of the company”
The first step for organisations that want to start sustainability reporting is to form a broad working group. “Don’t just leave this task to marketing or finance,” Edwin advises. “The input must come from the heart of the company, so you need all disciplines involved. Include HR, sales, purchasing, and operations, for example. Also ensure that the working group has backing from senior management. This can be done through sponsorship, but ideally, I like to see a board member as part of the group.”
If you ask Edwin, the multidisciplinary approach doesn’t stop there. “With a broad working group, you lay a solid foundation because sustainability is integrated into all facets of the organisation. But you can take it even further and tackle it on an industry level.” Although some industry organisations are working on sustainability across entire sectors, Edwin hopes this will become more widespread: “You can’t change the world on your own. If companies join forces, they can make bigger strides in the right direction. I believe this could help tremendously.”
The current reality, however, is that many organisations only form internal working groups. They can still achieve a lot with that, provided they critically examine their own strategy. Edwin: “In many cases, sustainability elements are already present. By comparing your strategy with the UN SDGs, you can identify which themes are relevant to you and where you, as a company, can make an impact.”
The next steps vary by organisation. But to give an idea of the issues you need to consider, Edwin highlights a crucial concept in sustainability reporting: ‘materiality’. “This concept also appears in financial statements,” he explains. “It refers to the topics that are important to the users who read your report and make decisions based on it. In sustainability reporting, there are two dimensions. First, there’s impact materiality: the impact your company has on people, nature, and the environment. Here, you look at topics such as CO2 emissions and labour relations in the supply chain. Then there’s financial materiality. This considers the effects of the external world on the company. It’s about matters that can impact the financial performance and funding of the business.”
The moral of the story? “Don’t start at the back with the 1,178 data points. It’s better to start at the front, with your business model, strategy, and materiality analysis. Then you can explain your material topics in a substantiated way and limit your report to the relevant data points.”
“Clients gain insight into where they make an impact”
How does Joanknecht support organisations that want or need to create sustainability reports? “First, we help them create a roadmap and go through a thorough analysis phase,” Edwin explains. “Organisations not only need to conduct stakeholder and materiality analyses, but also create a value creation model. We guide clients closely through these processes. We help identify stakeholders, support the formulation of relevant questions, and organise workshops. This gives clients insight into where they are making an impact, both positively and negatively.”
Joanknecht also provides crucial support in gathering and recording data. Edwin: “Sustainability reporting requires companies to capture data that often isn’t yet recorded in developed systems, such as data on CO2 emissions, inclusivity, and diversity policies. The question is whether the information that initially emerges is useful. Our Integrated Finance department can help in these cases.”
The IT specialists and data analysts at Joanknecht are already interpreting and unlocking financial data for clients, including through dashboards. Edwin says they are now expanding their expertise: “They are designing processes and tools to make this information accessible and usable for sustainability reporting. This allows them to help our clients unlock the necessary data in an interpretable way.”
Lastly, Joanknecht provides assurance for sustainability reports. “The CSRD requires that sustainability reports be accompanied by an assurance report from an accountant,” Edwin explains. “That’s why we are now writing audit programs together with several other firms. We’re also training our people to provide this assurance.”
Although Joanknecht offers excellent guidance, organisations must carry out certain tasks themselves. “Fully outsourcing sustainability reporting is impossible,” Edwin says, “because the knowledge comes from deep within the company. That’s why the organisation itself must write the report, for example. We can provide extensive support throughout this process.”
“Collaboration brings out the best in yourself and others”
Collaboration is central at Joanknecht, both internally and with partners and clients. “We know very well what we can do, but we also know our limits,” Edwin says. “That’s why we collaborate with external parties who have expertise in areas we don’t fully master.”
In this way, Joanknecht combines the best of both worlds: the firm offers a wide range of services, yet remains highly specialised. “We focus on business processes,” Edwin explains. “Sustainability processes fall under that. Conducting impact analyses, recording data, identifying material topics, collecting relevant data: these are all areas that fall within our expertise. However, we are not involved in actually realising sustainability initiatives. Despite our wide range of services, we concentrate on a small, specialised piece of the sustainability puzzle. It’s a very important piece of the puzzle that we have always been highly skilled at. From a financial, tax, and organisational perspective, we’ve always focused on this.”
A key aspect of Joanknecht’s philosophy is maintaining independence amidst all collaborations. “We’re quite an independent-minded group,” Edwin says. “In a market with many mergers and acquisitions, we’ve made a conscious decision to remain an independent organisation. We’re confident that we have enough knowledge and strength to make that work. At the same time, we know we can’t do everything ourselves. That’s why we seek collaboration with like-minded partners. In terms of ESG training, for example, we work with a few different parties. And for developing an assurance approach, we’ve teamed up with two other firms. Because while we want to maintain our independence, we strongly believe that collaboration brings out the best in ourselves and others.”
This mindset is also reflected in Joanknecht’s long-standing membership of the associations of advisory and accounting firms PrimeGlobal, which operates in more than 110 countries. PrimeGlobal has more than 300 independent firms affiliated with it, employing a total of over 45,000 professionals. Edwin, who is currently Chairman of the associations’s board, emphasizes how valuable this membership is: “We have discussions with people from different cultures, including on topics like sustainability. It’s incredibly inspiring to see that this is a thriving topic both inside and outside the EU. Everyone has ideas about it, and you can learn from that.”
One observation Edwin has made, for example, is that in the Netherlands, we actually have little reason to complain. But, he believes, we could also be a bit more modest at times: “You occasionally hear the argument here: ‘There’s no point in us committing to sustainability in the Netherlands if people in countries like India and China aren’t doing the same.’ But through PrimeGlobal, we’ve seen that this topic does, in fact, play a role there. People in these countries are busy coming up with potential solutions every day. So instead of complaining, we should think about how we can best help each other. Let’s also remember that for the past 200 years, it was actually the other way around: our contribution to the problem has been much greater.”
“People come first, and we demonstrate that every day”
Joanknecht is currently setting up an ESG team. This team includes employees from various departments, such as accountants, IT specialists, and business analysts. Because the regulations (including those around audits) are not yet fully defined, the most effective approach is ‘learning by doing’. “Internally, we have many discussions, for example, about case studies,” Edwin explains. “We also provide training and ask our people to keep their sustainability knowledge up to date.”
At the heart of Joanknecht’s sustainability efforts is one aspect that resonates throughout the entire organisation: the human factor. “In our strategy, we’ve explicitly stated that people come first — and we demonstrate that every day,” says Edwin. “Companies don’t work together. People work together. And the only way to work together is in a human way. The recipe for a sustainable relationship is give and take. You need to explore together, make mistakes together, and fix mistakes together. That requires commitment. You really have to invest energy into it. But it works in places where people are driven and willing to go for it.”
A sustainability report from Joanknecht would, therefore, mainly focus on people. “We pay a lot of attention to how we treat our people,” Edwin adds. “For us, it’s not just about a good salary and a nice work-life balance. It’s also about supporting people in their development. We’ve been doing that for over 75 years. When you join us, you know one thing for sure: you’re going to work, but you’ll also be learning. Whether it’s a long or short course, you won’t be standing still or doing the same thing for years.”
This principle came to light when the ESG team was first established: “On a Monday afternoon, we gathered the whole group. I shared our plans and said: ‘Let us know if you’re interested in contributing here.’ The next day, we had a long list of enthusiastic colleagues eager to join!”
“With the insights gained, you can position yourself more strongly”
Edwin wants SMEs to understand that sustainability reporting can be much more than just ticking a box. When organisations approach it in the right way, they can create value and strengthen their strategy. “What I’ve noticed with clients we’ve started this process with is that both we and they get to know the business even better,” Edwin explains. “They discover where they can truly make an impact on the SDGs. It’s incredibly rewarding for me to help uncover that. The business gains a perspective to define or redefine its strategy for the next 5, 10, or 15 years. With the insights gained, you can position yourself more strongly, make timely adjustments, and ensure long-term continuity.”
To illustrate what sustainability reporting can mean, Edwin shares a practical example: “A company that sourced raw materials from India discovered during the research phase that children were working in the mine. What do you do then? Simply stopping usually doesn’t solve much. Another company might take your place. That’s why this company decided to invest in a school in the area. It gave the parents better wages and ensured that the children went to school. This might sound like a huge undertaking, but it was actually a relatively small investment. The cost was factored into the product — and clients were informed that it was now a fair product.”
This compelling example shows that not only multinationals but also SMEs can make a difference. Edwin: “If every company were to do just one project like this, imagine the impact it would have on the bigger picture.”
“In 10 years, sustainability will be as commonplace as IT.”
There may be a few bumps on the new ‘sustainability road’, but Edwin sees the future positively. “In a year, we’ll have successfully completed the preparation process with our major clients who are required to report,” he predicts. “By then, Joanknecht’s ESG team will be fully engaged in preparing for the first audits. In five years, sustainability reporting will still be one of our specialisms. I also believe we’ll be helping more SMEs who see the value of voluntarily preparing a report.”
Edwin believes that in 10 years, sustainability will be an integral part of financial statements and business strategies: “I foresee a development similar to IT: 30 years ago, IT was very exotic, but now it’s an indispensable part of any process. In 10 years, sustainability will be as commonplace as IT. And actually, I hope it doesn’t take a decade.”
Where will Europe stand in terms of sustainability by then? “The 50,000 companies that are now still daunted by sustainability reporting will consider it perfectly normal to report annually on the goals set and the results achieved,” Edwin predicts. “And other SMEs will follow their lead. I hope that by then, the momentum will have started and that we’ll be moving in the right direction.”
Will we achieve the SDGs? “I want to believe it’s possible,” Edwin says. The earth will keep turning, with or without us. So I don’t think we really have a choice. There’s a real need to tackle this — together, because you can’t do it alone. But I think it’s a wonderful necessity.”