The Double Materiality Assessment (DMA) is an impactful tool in corporate sustainability reporting, evaluating both financial and impact materiality. Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) approaches, such as Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) and Life Cycle Management (LCM), offers a structured approach to assess environmental, social and economic impact. 

This study explores how principles from LCT can support the DMA required under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and assesses the extent to which first-wave CSRD-compliant companies disclose DMA and LCT-related information in their annual reports.

A qualitative-dominant mixed-method approach was applied. A framework was developed by aligning ESRS disclosure requirements related to DMA with key LCT concepts. 20 annual reports from large Danish companies subject to the first CSRD reporting wave were assessed using a structured analysis, supported by a 0-5 scoring system across thematic categories. 

The results show partial to moderate alignment with ESRS DMA disclosure requirements and limited but emerging application of LCT principles. Stakeholder engagement and methodology received relatively higher scores, while business model and value chain were the least disclosed. The use of LCT was more prevalent in product-oriented industries. 

The study provides insights into how companies can strengthen their DMA by integrating LCT practices, thereby improving audit-readiness, transparency, and strategic alignment. It also offers a practical scoring framework that can be adapted to benchmark disclosure quality.

The study addresses a research gap by linking life cycle-based methodologies with double materiality under the ESRS. It offers a novel analytical framework for assessing disclosure practices and highlights the role of LCT in supporting systematic and verifiable sustainability reporting. The study aims to bridge the gap between theoretical sustainability methodologies and regulatory reporting practices.