The new sustainability directive Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive [CSRD] isdescribed as the biggest thing that has happened since International Financial ReportingStandards [IFRS] was implemented in the reporting world. A watered-down Non-FinancialReporting Directive [NFRD] will be given new strength through CSRD, which entails higherand stricter requirements for reporting companies to report sustainability information to, amongother things, improve comparability and credibility, and as a step on the way to equatingsustainability reporting with financial reporting. A common way of explaining CSRD at theagency is "GRI on steroids" as a synonym for the higher and more comprehensive requirementsof the directive.This study has been carried out as a case study and aims to create an understanding of auditfirms' perceptions regarding the new sustainability directive CSRD and how they prepare forimplementation. But also, how audit firms are involved in the interpretation and design of thedirective. More precisely, the study has been carried out as a case study of the audit firm KPMG.The purpose of the study has been achieved by first carrying out text analysis which consistedof, among other things, EU documents regarding CSRD, web pages and newspaper interviews.In addition to text analysis, an observation was also carried out which consisted of a webinarfrom European Accounting Association [EAA]. Finally, six interviews were conducted withsustainability experts from KPMG who have extensive knowledge in sustainable business andwho work proactively in the field. Institutional theory has been combined with the threedifferent methods to be able to produce analyses regarding agencies' perceptions about thedirective.In conclusion, the study demonstrates the impact of institutional pressures where there arepressures from different market players pulling in different directions. The institutionalpressures, which are exerted by for example the reporting companies, their stakeholders, andaudit firms, reflect the different players’ interests. Because of these pressures, KPMG needs toadapt its operations to the new directive in order to remain competitive on the market. KPMGis also involved in shaping what the final draft of the directive and the new standards will be,as they are part of the Förenade Auktoriserade Revisorerna [FAR] and the European FinancialReporting Advisory Group [EFRAG] that work to develop and interpret the directive. Becauseof this and the size of the firm, KPMG is able to exert pressure on the standard setters to shapethe final draft of the CSRD in accordance with KPMG’s interests.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur projektledare i byggbranschen arbetar med hållbarhet och hur de upplever att EU:s nya hållbarhetsdirektiv som infördes 1 januari 2024 kommer att påverka byggprojekt och byggprojektledning. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ ansats och nio semistrukturerade intervjuer med projektledare verksamma i byggbranschen. Datat som insamlats genom intervjuerna analyserades genom tematisk analys vilket resulterade i tre huvudteman: Ekonomin är alltid No.1, Social och miljömässig hållbarhet som incitament och Tung papperstiger i ryggsäcken för små aktörer. Resultatet av studien visar att det är svårt att bedriva ett hållbart projektarbete utan att prioritera det ekonomiska perspektivet av hållbarhet först. Oavsett hur goda intentioner en projektledare har att implementera hållbarhet i projektarbetet behöver den förhålla sig till budgeten allra först även om de globala målen slår fast att de tre hållbarhetsaspekterna ekonomiskt, socialt och miljömässigt är integrerade och odelbara. Vissa projektledare kan använda hållbarhetsarbetet som ett incitament för vinstsyfte. Andra aktörer har svårt att prioritera mer hållbara material och metoder på grund av att det kostar för mycket. Detta är avhängigt storlek på verksamhet samt verksamhetens art. Resultatet tyder också på att små aktörer på byggmarknaden kommer att bli mer negativt påverkade av de nya hållbarhetsdirektiven eftersom det kommer kräva mer administration som är svår att ta ikapp ekonomiskt. Samtidigt upplever de mindre aktörerna att deras möjlighet att påverka hållbarheten i projekten är minimal. Större aktörer på byggmarknaden har ofta specialister anställda för att sköta den typen av arbetsuppgifter och kan ofta använda sig av certifieringar vilket höjer värdet på byggnadsverket och gör att de kan tjäna igen sina administrativa kostnader. Slutsatserna är bland annat att det behövs skallkrav i upphandlingar av byggprojekt för att hållbarheten ska bli verklighet i praktiken men att det samtidigt krävs mod av byggaktörerna att testa nya arbetssätt och utveckla nya hållbara material. / The purpose of this study was to investigate how project managers in the construction industry work with sustainability and how they experience that the EU's new sustainability regulations, which was introduced on January 1, 2024, will affect construction projects and construction project management. The study was carried out with a qualitative approach and nine semi-structured interviews with project managers active in the construction industry. The data collected through the interviews was analyzed through thematic analysis which resulted in three main themes: The economy is always No.1, Social and environmental sustainability as an incentive and Heavy paper tiger in the backpack for small practitioners.  The results of the study show that it is difficult to conduct sustainable project work without prioritizing the financial perspective of sustainability first. Regardless of how good a project manager's intentions are to implement sustainability in the project work, the person needs to approach the budget first, even if the global goals state that the three aspects of sustainability economically, socially and environmentally are integrated and indivisible. Some project managers may use the sustainability work as an incentive for profit. Other actors find it difficult to prioritize more sustainable materials and methods because the costs are too high. This depends on the size of the business and the nature of the business.  The result also indicates that small players in the construction market will be more negatively affected by the new sustainability directives because it will require more administration which is difficult to catch up financially. At the same time, the smaller actors experience that their possibilities to influence the sustainability of the projects is minimal. Larger players in the construction market often have specialists employed to handle this kind of tasks, and can often make use of certifications, which increase the value of the construction work and give them a chance to recoup their administrative costs. The conclusions are, among other things, that there is a need for basic requirements in the procurement of construction projects in order for sustainability to become a reality in practice, but at the same time that courage is required for the building operators to test new working methods and to develop new sustainable materials.