Set the E1 reporting boundary

The E1 reporting boundary determines which organizations enter the greenhouse gas inventory of a reporting period, and at which attribution rate. ESRS E1 is the only ESRS module in which this consolidation approach may differ from the financial reporting boundary.

Prerequisites

• You are signed in to your team and have the administrator role.
• At least one active standalone or parent organization has been created.
• An active or preliminary reporting period exists.

Step by step

1. In the left menu, select “Settings → Grenzen → E1 Berichterstattung zum Klimawandel”.
2. Click “Create Reporting Boundary” at the top right. The wizard opens with three steps.
3. In step 1, “Basic information”, use “Organization” to choose the company the boundary applies to. Only active standalone and parent organizations are shown.
4. Then choose the “Reporting period”; only active and preliminary periods are listed. “Next” becomes active only once both fields are completed.
5. In step 2, “Consolidation approach”, pick one of the three selection cards “Operational control”, “Financial control” or “Equity share”.
6. In “Justification (optional)”, record why this consolidation approach is suitable for your company. If you deviate from the financial boundary, that justification must be documented under ESRS 1, paragraph 63.
7. In step 3, “Entity selection”, review each organization. All are included by default via the checkbox; provide reasons for any exclusions. Each row shows the type, the ownership interest and the label “Within the financial boundary”.
8. Click “Create Reporting Boundary”. The application switches straight to the detail page, the boundary carries the status “Draft” and its creation is logged in the activity history.

The three consolidation approaches

• “Operational control” – 100% of emissions from activities over which your organization has operational control. Joint ventures without operational control remain excluded.
• “Financial control” – 100% of emissions from financially controlled activities, which generally corresponds to financial consolidation. Under shared financial control, attribution is proportionate to the equity share.
• “Equity share” – proportionate attribution based on the ownership interest, so 50% for a 50% joint venture. This approach requires accurate ownership data for all companies.

How this differs from the CSRD organizational boundary

The E1 reporting boundary does not replace the general CSRD reporting boundary, it complements it: the CSRD boundary sets the reporting scope across all ESRS data points, while the E1 boundary only defines the consolidation scope for greenhouse gas accounting. To set the general boundary, see Define CSRD organizational boundary.

Practical tip: choose the approach that matches your actual ability to manage operations. If you can operationally control the energy consumption of a site, you should also take full responsibility for its emissions – regardless of financial consolidation.