New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Achieve Sustainable Compliance with Business Central

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1.

The 3rd of the new functionality in the Legislation section is achieve sustainable compliance with Business Central.

This feature enables you to collect and report on your sustainability activities. The solution is the foundation that will be used for compliance with the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and other ESG standards..

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Apr 2024
General Availability: May 2024

Feature Details

Microsoft are introducing a groundbreaking feature focused on sustainability reporting. This new, easily extendable functionality lets you record and report on a wide spectrum of sustainability information, encompassing both qualitative and quantitative aspects, and forward-looking and retrospective data. You can also leverage the feature to actively reduce emissions, making it a valuable tool for small and midsized organizations seeking to comprehensively report on sustainability initiatives.

This feature ensures compliance with the European Union’s CSRD, which requires companies to report on the sustainability of their activities. The CSRD introduces a heightened requirement for reporting, impacting approximately 50,000 companies in the European Union—more than four times the number covered by the previous Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), which the CSRD supersedes. However, the solution will be built to ensure that ESG compliance aligns with other standards.

You can use Sustainability Journals and Recurring Sustainability Journals to record data, based on the Chart of Emission Accounts. You can use different emission groups, subgroups, and formulas to make the collection of emissions as easy as possible. This feature also has Sustainability Entries where data is recorded and used for reporting. It’s important to understand that Business Central supports other emissions besides carbon footprint.

You can benefit from streamlined business processes and enhanced productivity, irrespective of your current stage in the sustainability journey. The initial release lays the foundation for future expansion and automation, promising ongoing advancements in the functionality.