Danish start-up BeCause has revealed plans to launch a new digital tool aiding hotel chains in meeting the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).   

From the second half of this year, hotels using BeCause's enterprise solution will have access to a digitised version of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). 

This will allow hotels to collect and generate audit-ready sustainability reports. 

Current users of the BeCause platform are also anticipated to benefit from the ability to integrate previously collected data directly into the ESRS framework.  

This feature will ensure that data collected for ESRS compliance can be repurposed for other purposes, allowing hotels to re-direct their resources elsewhere. 

These purposes range from voluntary eco-certifications to eliminating costly, time-intensive and redundant data entry processes. 

BeCause co-founder and CEO Frederik Steensgaard said: “Instead of starting from scratch, hotels will be able to leverage the sustainability data they already have at hand and upcycle it to the ESRS framework for CSRD compliance purposes.” 

“By adding the ESRS framework to our platform, we are helping hotels minimise the risk of non-compliance penalties as well as reputational damage.” 

After releasing the ESRS framework on its platform, BeCause is preparing to help hotels address the issue of double materiality with a new feature.  

This feature will provide a digitised framework based on EFRAG guidelines, assisting hotels in identifying material sustainability matters for reporting.  

With the integration of double materiality, the feature will help hotels discern relevant data points and assess sustainability impacts, risks, and opportunities in only a few days. 

BeCause aims to serve as a central hub for environmental impact data, automating updates to the sustainability framework and alerting hotels to any missing information that could affect their compliance status.  

The company notes that this centralisation of data also aids travel booking websites, which rely on the BeCause platform to verify and display a hotel's sustainable certifications to consumers. 

In March 2024, BeCause digitised Sustainable Hospitality Alliance’s Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) and Hotel Water Measurement Initiative (HWMI) methodologies.