Environmental Defense Fund Europe has published a short report summarizing the results of interviews with European and global companies and financial institutions about their attitude toward the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its revision under the omnibus proposal. 

At the start of this political term, the European Commission (EC) announced several measures aimed at reducing «administrative burden and compliance costs». A first omnibus package was introduced to simplify sustainability reporting obligations. While simplification is needed, it must not come at the cost of dismantling core elements that are instrumental in advancing the EU’s economic resilience and sustainability leadership. 

The report “From box ticking to impact” (download the PDF here) summarizes which parts of the CSRD are working for companies and financial institutions and which are posing challenges, while providing recommendations on how to overcome those challenges. 

Key highlights: 

• CSRD brings short and long-term benefits across the value chain for companies and the EU competitiveness, but the short-term implementation challenges are currently overshadowing the long-term benefits. 
• There are ways to make the life of companies easier while maintaining the core principles of CSRD by (1) simplifying ESRS focusing on proportionate (with special emphasis for SMEs) and decision-useful datapoints for companies, investors and stakeholders; and (2) more guidance and support to accompany companies and auditors through the transition focusing on core elements and impact.