European Commission simplifies sustainability reporting and introduces a voluntary standard for SMEs
European Union -
Revision of the ESRS is part of the Omnibus I simplification package and is accompanied by a voluntary reporting framework for companies outside the scope of the CSRD.
The European Commission adopted the revised European sustainability reporting standards on July 3 (ESRS) and a voluntary reporting standard for smaller companies (see here).
- From one angle, the adopted revised standards are part of the Omnibus I simplification package, which streamlines sustainability reporting in the EU and reduces the number of companies in scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
In Spain, meanwhile, the bill for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Law continues its passage through parliament. This bill will transpose Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 (CSRD) as regards corporate sustainability reporting and Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2023/2775 of 17 October 2023 as regards size criteria for undertakings. Once the bill has been approved, many large companies will have an obligation in Spain to start reporting non-financial information under new requirements and complying with these presentation formats adopted by the Commission. - From another angle, the voluntary reporting standard for smaller companies outside the scope of the CSRD provides a single framework for sustainability reporting. It will make it easier for these companies to respond to specific requests for sustainability information from large financial institutions and companies. A value chain cap is also established, meaning that companies subject to the CSRD cannot require companies in their value chains to provide more information than what is covered by the voluntary standard. Up until now companies could use an intermediate solution in the European Commission's recommendation on a voluntary sustainability reporting standard for small and medium-sized companies.
The delegated act revising the ESRS and the delegated act establishing the voluntary standard for SMEs start the scrutiny phase by the European Parliament and Council of the EU. This means they will not come into effect legally until they are published in the Official Journal of the European Union.