The EU Commission has presented proposals to reduce the regulatory burden on companies when it comes to sustainability reporting. Planned changes include higher thresholds, later reporting deadlines and reduced verification requirements. Lufthansa Industry Solutions (LHIND) supports companies in implementing efficient ESG reporting solutions.
Norderstedt, February 27, 2025 - On February 26, 2025, the European Commission presented a legislative proposal to simplify sustainability reporting for companies. The so-called "Omnibus Regulation" aims to adapt the existing reporting requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Supply Chain Directive (CSDDD) and the EU Taxonomy in order to reduce the administrative burden, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The proposal includes the following changes, among others:
- New reporting thresholds: In the future, only companies with more than 1,000 employees and either a turnover of more than EUR 50 million or a balance sheet total of more than EUR 250 million will be required to report. The previous threshold of 250 employees will no longer apply.
- Deferral of reporting requirements: Companies that are still required to report under the new criteria will not have to report for fiscal year 2027 until 2028 instead of 2025.
- Reduction of data points: The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) will be revised to reduce the number of mandatory reporting data points.
- Limited assurance: CSRD reports will continue to be subject to a limited assurance review only. There are no plans to extend this to reasonable assurance.
- Voluntary use of the EU Taxonomy: Companies with fewer than 1,000 employees will be able to apply the EU Taxonomy on a voluntary basis in future.
With these measures, the EU Commission is responding to calls from the business community for a more pragmatic implementation of sustainability reporting requirements. The aim is to reduce the burden on companies without compromising the transparency and comparability of sustainability information.
