ESGeo | Case Study | Colfert: Innovating Reporting to Highlight Impact Value

Colfert is a leading distributor of products and services for the window and door industry. It supports professionals in the selection and supply of materials for fixtures and closure systems, offering a wide range of solutions, qualified technical support, and constant attention to customer needs.
Colfert's mission is to facilitate and enhance its customers' daily work through product variety, expert advice, training, and continuous updates, all while upholding quality standards and environmental sustainability.

The Challenge

Colfert had already established a structured sustainability path, supported by the ESGeo platform for ESG reporting.
The evolution of the European regulatory framework - particularly the introduction of the double materiality principle outlined by the CSRD and EFRAG guidelines (IG1) - presented a new opportunity to strengthen its methodological framework and further enhance the effectiveness of its impact reporting.

The main challenge was strategic: how to ensure that the information reported truly reflected all the benefits generated, and how to develop a set of KPIs genuinely aligned with the company’s ESG risks and opportunities. Colfert, taking inspiration from the new European methodology for Double Materiality assessment, found itself needing to critically reconsider its approach to materiality. Certain KPIs, such as product life cycle extension and reuse, could be more effectively tracked and highlighted in the reporting process.

For this reason, an in-depth analysis was undertaken with the support of the ESGeo advisory team, aimed at reconstructing the methodological process behind materiality and linking it to the I.R.O. Assessment methodology (i.e., describing Impacts, Risks, and Opportunities according to European guidelines).

The Approach

The work began with an analysis of impact-driven activities already present within the company but not yet fully leveraged. Two activities in particular emerged: the power tool rental service - which allows customers to avoid purchasing new machinery, resulting in significant economic and environmental savings - and the training courses offered to window and door installers, specifically focused on PVC frame repair, with the goal of extending product life and reducing the need for replacement.

This new approach made it possible to assign additional impact value to certain ESG data already monitored within the company. Internal surveys were developed and directed to the managers of these two activities to collect and highlight key data such as the number of power tools rented annually, the training hours delivered on these topics, and the corresponding number of participants. Based on this information, specific KPIs were defined to quantify savings in terms of avoided production of new tools and the extended useful life of PVC products.

In a second phase, the entire data collection process was digitalized on the ESGeo platform. This allowed for document traceability (rental contracts, training certificates) and for the management of any conversion factors aligned with the new impact indicators. The process highlighted not only waste management, but also the themes of reuse and recovery, including through repair activities.

The Impact

The process generated benefits on multiple levels. On a strategic and statutory level, Colfert was able to map new activities for the common good in line with its status as a Benefit Corporation, strengthening both the mandatory impact reporting and its ESG positioning.On an operational level, the integration of new KPIs allowed for a more accurate representation of company dynamics and more effective communication with external stakeholders.

Furthermore, this process created opportunities to potentially develop new stakeholder engagement methods in the future, aimed at encouraging dialogue and identifying shared best practices focused on reducing environmental impact. The emphasis on reuse-related topics has therefore strengthened internal awareness and initiated an evolution in reporting practices, in line with the latest European requirements.