6.4 Limited assurance report of the independent auditor on the sustainability statement
To: the general meeting and the supervisory board of Nedap N.V.
Our limited assurance conclusion
Based on the procedures we have performed and the assurance evidence we have obtained, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the consolidated sustainability statement of Nedap N.V. (hereafter: the company) for 2024 is not, in all material respects,
prepared in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) as adopted by the European Commission and in accordance with the process to identify the information to be reported carried out by the company to identify the information reported pursuant to the ESRS; and
compliant with the reporting requirements provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (Taxonomy Regulation).
The subject matter of our limited assurance procedures
We have conducted a limited assurance engagement on the consolidated sustainability statement of Nedap N.V., Groenlo for 2024, included in section sustainability statement of the directors’ report including the information incorporated in the sustainability statement by reference (hereafter: the sustainability statement).
In the sustainability statement, references are made to external sources or websites. The information on these external sources or websites is not subject to our limited assurance procedures for the sustainability statement. We therefore do not provide assurance on this information.
The basis for our conclusion
We conducted our limited assurance engagement in accordance with Dutch law, including the Dutch Standard 3810N ‘Assuranceopdrachten inzake duurzaamheidsverslaggeving’ (assurance engagements relating to sustainability reporting), which is a specific Dutch Standard that is based on the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 ‘Assurance engagements other than audits or reviews of historical financial information’. Our responsibilities under this standard are further described in the section ‘Our responsibilities for the limited assurance engagement on the sustainability statement’ of our report. We believe that the assurance evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our conclusion.
Our independence and quality management
We are independent of Nedap N.V. in accordance with the ‘Verordening inzake de onafhankelijkheid van accountants bij assuranceopdrachten’ (ViO, Code of ethics for professional accountants, a regulation with respect to independence) and other relevant independence regulations in the Netherlands. Furthermore, we have complied with the ‘Verordening gedrags- en beroepsregels accountants’ (VGBA, Dutch Code of ethics for professional accountants).
PwC applies the applicable quality management requirements pursuant to the ‘Nadere voorschriften kwaliteitsmanagement’ (NVKM – Regulations for quality management) and the International Standard on Quality Management (ISQM) 1, and accordingly maintains a comprehensive system of quality management including documented policies and procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and other relevant legal and regulatory requirements.
Emphasis of matters
Emphasis on the double materiality assessment process
We draw attention to section 5.3 Material sustainability matters and subsection 5.4.4 Statement on due diligence of the sustainability statement. The disclosures in these sections explain possible future changes in the ongoing due diligence and double materiality assessment process, including engagement with affected stakeholders. Due diligence is an on-going practice that responds to and may trigger changes in the company’s strategy, business model, activities, business relationships, operating, sourcing and selling contexts relevant for stakeholders as a group. The double materiality assessment process may also be impacted in time by sector-specific standards to be adopted. The sustainability statement may therefore not include every impact, risk and opportunity or additional entity-specific disclosure that each individual stakeholder may consider important in its own assessment.
Emphasis on significant measurement uncertainties
We draw attention to subsections 5.6.4 Resource outflows and 5.5.6 GHG emissions metrics in the sustainability statement that identify the quantitative metrics for durability and GHG scope 3 emissions that are subject to a high level of measurement uncertainty and disclose information about the sources of measurement uncertainty and the assumptions, approximations and judgements the company has made in measuring these in compliance with the ESRS.
Our conclusion is not modified in respect of these matters.
Corresponding information not subject to assurance procedures
The corresponding information in the sustainability statement and thereto related disclosures with respect to previous years have not been subjected to reasonable or limited assurance procedures.
Inherent limitations in preparing the sustainability statement
In reporting forward-looking information in accordance with the ESRS, the board of directors of the company is required to prepare the forward-looking information based on disclosed assumptions about events that may occur in the future and possible future actions by the company. The actual outcome is likely to be different since anticipated events frequently do not occur as expected. Forward-looking information relates to events and actions that have not yet occurred and may never occur. We do not provide assurance on the achievability of this forward-looking information.
The comparability of sustainability information between entities and over time may be affected by the lack of historical sustainability information in accordance with the ESRS and by the absence of a uniform practice on which to draw, to evaluate and measure this information. This allows for the application of different, but acceptable, measurement techniques, especially in the initial years.
Calculations to determine information as included in the sustainability statement could be based on assumptions and sources from third parties that include information about, among others, value chain and information collected from actors in the value chain, when appropriate. We have not performed procedures on the content of these assumptions and these external sources, other than evaluating the suitability and plausibility of these assumptions and sources from third parties used.
Responsibilities for the sustainability statement and the review thereon
Responsibilities of the board of directors and the supervisory board for the sustainability statement
The board of directors of Nedap N.V. is responsible for the preparation of the sustainability statement in accordance with ESRS, including the development and implementation of the double materiality process, which is a process to identify the information reported in the sustainability statement in accordance with the ESRS and for disclosing this process in the sustainability statement.
This responsibility includes:
understanding the context in which Nedap’s activities and business relationships take place and developing an understanding of its affected stakeholders;
the identification of the actual and potential impacts (both negative and positive) related to sustainability matters, as well as risks and opportunities that affect, or could reasonably be expected to affect, the company’s financial position, financial performance, cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital over the short-, medium-, or long-term;
the assessment of the materiality of the identified impacts, risks and opportunities related to sustainability matters by selecting and applying appropriate thresholds; and
making assumptions and estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances.
The board of directors is also responsible for preparing the disclosures in compliance with the reporting requirements provided in Article 8 of EU Regulation 2020/852 (the “Taxonomy Regulation”).
The board of directors is also responsible for selecting and applying the additional entity-specific disclosure to enable users to understand the company’s sustainability-related impacts, risks or opportunities and for determining that these additional entity-specific disclosures are suitable in the circumstances and in accordance with the ESRS.
Furthermore, the board of directors is responsible for such internal control as the board of directors determines is necessary to enable the preparation of the sustainability statement that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
The supervisory board is responsible for overseeing the company’s sustainability reporting process including the double materiality process carried out by the company.
Our responsibilities for the limited assurance engagement on the sustainability statement
Our responsibility is to plan and perform the limited assurance engagement in a manner that allows us to obtain sufficient appropriate assurance evidence to provide a basis for our conclusion.
Our objectives are to obtain a limited level of assurance, as appropriate, about whether the sustainability statement is free from material misstatements, and to issue a limited assurance conclusion in our report. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence decisions of users taken on the basis of the sustainability statement. The procedures vary in nature and timing from, and are less in extent than for, a reasonable assurance engagement. The level of assurance obtained in a limited assurance engagement is therefore substantially less than the assurance obtained in a reasonable assurance engagement.
Our other responsibilities in respect of the limited assurance engagement on the sustainability statement include:
Performing risk assessment procedures, including obtaining an understanding of internal control relevant to the engagement, to identify where material misstatements are likely to arise, whether due to fraud or error; and
Designing and performing procedures responsive to where material misstatements are likely to arise in the sustainability statement. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
Procedures performed
We have exercised professional judgement and have maintained professional scepticism throughout the assurance engagement, in accordance with the Dutch Standard 3810N, ethical requirements and independence requirements. Our procedures included, amongst others, the following:
Performing inquiries and an analysis of the external environment and obtaining an understanding of relevant sustainability themes and issues, the characteristics of the company, its activities and the value chain and its key intangible resources to assess the process to identify the information to be reported carried out by the company as the basis for the sustainability statement and disclosure of all material sustainability-related impacts, risks and opportunities in accordance with ESRS.
Obtaining through inquiries a general understanding of the internal control environment, the company’s processes for gathering and reporting entity-related and value chain information, the information systems and the company’s risk assessment process relevant to the preparation of the sustainability statement and for identifying the company’s activities, determining eligible and aligned activities and prepare the disclosures provided for in the Taxonomy Regulation, without testing the operating effectiveness of controls.
Assessing the double materiality process carried out by the company and identifying and assessing areas of the sustainability statement, including the disclosures provided for in the Taxonomy Regulation where misleading or unbalanced information or material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error, are likely to arise. We designed and performed further assurance procedures aimed at determining that the sustainability statement is free from material misstatements responsive to this risk analysis.
Considering whether the description of the process to identify the information to be reported in the sustainability statement made by the board of directors appears consistent with the process carried out by the company.
Evaluating the methods, assumptions and data for developing estimates and forward-looking information. Assessing whether the company’s methods for developing estimates are appropriate and have been consistently applied for selected disclosures. Our procedures did not include testing the data on which the estimates are based or separately developing our own estimates against which to evaluate the company’s estimates.
Analysing, on a limited sample basis, relevant internal and external documentation at the level of the company (including other entities or value chain from which the information may stem) for selected disclosures.
Determining the nature and extent of the procedures to be performed for the group components. For this, the nature, extent and/or risk profile of these components are decisive. Our procedures were performed centrally.
Reading the other information in the annual report to identify material inconsistencies, if any, with the sustainability statement.
Considering whether the disclosures provided to address the reporting requirements provided for in the Taxonomy Regulation for each of the environmental objectives, reconcile with the underlying records of the company and are consistent or coherent with the sustainability statement, appear reasonable, in particular whether the eligible economic activities meet the cumulative conditions to qualify as aligned and whether the technical criteria are met, and whether the accompanying key performance indicators disclosures have been defined and calculated in accordance with the Taxonomy reference framework, and comply with the reporting requirements provided for in the Taxonomy Regulation, including the format in which the activities are presented.
Reconciling the relevant financial information to the financial statements.
Considering the overall presentation, structure and the balanced content of the sustainability statement, including the reporting requirements provided for in the Taxonomy Regulation.
Considering, based on our limited assurance procedures and evaluation of the assurance evidence obtained, whether the sustainability statement as a whole, including the sustainability matters and disclosures, is clearly and adequately disclosed in accordance with ESRS.
We communicate with the supervisory board regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the limited assurance engagement and significant findings that we identify during our limited assurance engagement.
Zwolle, 3 March 2025
PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V.
F.S. van der Ploeg RA
Disclaimer
This annual report contains the Board of Directors′ forward-looking statements and expectations based on current insights and assumptions, which are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The actual results or events could differ from these expectations due to changes in the economic climate, developments on specific markets, orders from individual customers and/or other developments. Nedap cannot be required to update the forward-looking statements contained in this version of the annual report or held responsible for doing so, regardless of whether they are related to new information, future events or suchlike, unless Nedap is required to do so by law.
This version of the annual report is a non-official copy of our original and official 2024 annual report. The independent auditor (PwC) has not certified this copy as being a true copy of the official version, neither are they under an obligation to do so. Therefore, the independent auditor′s report and the limited assurance report of the independent auditor on the sustainability statement do not relate to this copy, but solely to the official version. In the event of any inconsistencies in the interpretation, the official annual report shall prevail. No rights can be derived from this version. The audited and approved version is available in ‘2024 Annual report - ESEF-package’ on https://nedap.com/investors/publications/ (new window).