This research explores how the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) can serve not only as a compliance requirement but as a strategic driver of sustainability leadership and innovation among Finnish IT service firms.
As regulatory expectations rise, organizations face growing demands for reliable data, transparent governance, and digitally enabled reporting processes. These shifts create new opportunities for capability development and service innovation within IT-intensive environments.
With empirical case studies of Finnish IT firms, I will examine how firms operate CSRD and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) in strategy, governance, data management, and leadership. Specifically, digital technologies – such as traceability tools, analytics, and automation – can transform reporting routines into engines for new sustainable service offerings and improved competitiveness.
The research supports the competitiveness of the Finnish IT sector and advances Finland’s broader green transition by enabling the development of new sustainable digital services. The project will generate practical guidance for firms and policymakers, including capability maps and evidence-based recommendations that reduce duplication, enhance assurance readiness, and turn compliance efforts into sources of strategic advantage.
MSc (Tech) Mikhail Olawale Adisa is a postdoctoral researcher at LUT School of Engineering Science. In the grant round 2025, he received a €15,000 grant for his research ”Leveraging CSRD to Enhance Sustainability Leadership and Innovation in Finnish IT Services”. The grant was awarded in the Pooled Funds: Forest Bioeconomy, Circular Economy, and Clean Transition Value Chains.