CSRD Update: Postponement of Sector-Specific ESRS and ESRS for Non-EU Companies
The original version of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD – 2022/2464) empowered the European Commission to adopt the following European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) by 30 June 2024:
- Sector-specific ESRS: These standards will outline sector-specific reporting requirements.
- ESRS for selected non-EU companies: These standards will apply to non-EU companies with significant operations in the EU.
However, in October 2023, the European Commission proposed postponing the adoption of these ESRS by two years, pushing the deadline to 30 June 2026. This proposal was formally adopted by the European Parliament on 10 April 2024, and by the Council on 29 April 2024. Subsequently, the respective Directive was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 8 May 2024, and entered into force on 28 May 2024.
This delay aims to allow companies to focus on implementing the sector-agnostic ESRS and to devote more resources to developing comprehensive sector-specific standards, thus reducing the reporting burden on companies.
It is crucial to note that the new timing does not alter the existing CSRD reporting schedules. EU companies will still have to continue to report in accordance with the sector-agnostic ESRS adopted by the Commission in July 2023. The postponement only affects sector-specific reporting, which will now be required from 2026. For non-EU companies with a turnover exceeding EUR 150 million, and their EU branches with a turnover exceeding EUR 40 million, the general reporting obligations will commence in 2028. Hence, the adoption of sector-specific ESRS in 2026 will give these companies ample time to comply.