European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)

The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) are designed to ensure that sustainability information is understandable, relevant, reliable, and comparable. The first set of sector-agnostic standards has already been adopted by the European Commission, forming the foundation of CSRD reporting. Omnibus I, an EU legislative package, has simplified the directives on corporate sustainability reporting, and has raised the threshold of companies that must report.

Who Must Report?

Reporting is mandatory for companies of over 1000 employees, with a net annual turnover of €450 million. Restructuring of the CSRD in 2026 has resulted in changes to how many companies have been in scope for essential reporting – previously, this threshold was significantly lower.

Large public interest entities (PIEs) were the first to report under CSRD, initially covering companies with more than 500 employees during ‘Wave 1’. Despite the 2026 changes, these organisations must still continue to report under the CSRD, though the Commission’s ‘quick-fix’ allows these companies more reporting flexibility for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.

Companies still in scope for CSRD in 2026 are those with over 1000 employees and a net annual turnover of €450, and previous Wave 1 companies.

Assurance Requirement

CSRD requires sustainability reporting to be subject to external assurance by a statutory auditor, an audit firm or independent accredited assurance provider, to review whether the sustainability information is reported in compliance with ESRS.

Companies reporting under CSRD will also have to comply with EU Taxonomy regulation.