Smart implementation of EU sustainability reporting standards: make complying with rules easy

The document advocates for the full implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), arguing that they are essential for the European Green Deal and sustainable finance. It warns that arbitrary reductions in reporting obligations would create legal uncertainty and undermine the ability of investors to allocate capital to the green transition. The authors emphasize that the standards already include significant flexibility through materiality assessments and phase-in periods, and they propose improving usability through practical guidance, capacity building for Member States, and the development of sector-specific standards.

• The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) are presented as essential tools for the economic transition, designed to fix market failures in providing comparable sustainability data and to help companies manage sustainability risks.
• Standardised reporting is linked to the mobilization of necessary finance for the European Green Deal and REPowerEU, which requires an estimated additional investment of €620 billion per year.
• The authors argue that arbitrary cuts to reporting obligations, such as the 25% reduction target pursued by the EU Commission since 2023, lack evidence and could increase the burden on companies by creating legal uncertainty.
• The ESRS provide significant flexibility to companies through a risk-based approach and materiality assessments; approximately 80% of the data points in the standards are subject to a company's own materiality decision.
• The CSRD's impact is limited to a small fraction of EU businesses, initially covering 51,000 companies, which represents only 0.2% of all companies in the EU.
• To improve the usability of the CSRD, the document recommends providing practical guidance, capacity building for Member States, and replacing voluntary sectoral initiatives with focused, sector-specific ESRS.

APA

ClientEarth (2024). Smart implementation of EU sustainability reporting standards: make complying with rules easy. https://www.clientearth.org/media/cqsj4wse/multi-stakeholder-statement_smart-implementation-esrs.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Smart implementation of EU sustainability reporting standards: make complying with rules easy. 2024. https://www.clientearth.org/media/cqsj4wse/multi-stakeholder-statement_smart-implementation-esrs.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Smart implementation of EU sustainability reporting standards: make complying with rules easy |date=December 2024 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/cqsj4wse/multi-stakeholder-statement_smart-implementation-esrs.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2024smart, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Smart implementation of EU sustainability reporting standards: make complying with rules easy}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/cqsj4wse/multi-stakeholder-statement_smart-implementation-esrs.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }