Influence of Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive on Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Management Strategies among Companies Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange
Keywords:
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Stakeholder engagement, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Risk Management, Nairobi Securities Exchange, KenyaAbstract
This paper examines the influence of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) on ESG strategies among companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), employing an exploratory design that combines quantitative and qualitative analysis of five leading NSE issuers to assess how CSRD-shaped disclosure practices influence ESG risk management within the Kenyan capital markets context. While the findings reveal that ESG reporting has expanded following the 2021 NSE guidance, alignment with core CSRD features remains uneven, particularly with respect to double materiality assessments and independent assurance, underscoring the need for the Capital Markets Authority and the NSE to strengthen enforcement mechanisms and provide targeted capacity-building initiatives that bring Kenyan ESG reporting into closer alignment with evolving global standards.
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