More than 90 organisations representing civil society, business, banks and investor interests, express deep concern over the misrepresentation of EU sustainability reporting as a threat to competitiveness.
Our joint statement, published on 12 December, is a response to the recent omnibus proposal announcement by EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen.
The Commission has stated that scaling up sustainable finance is a major priority. Achieving that requires access to consistent and reliable information on businesses’ sustainability performance, enabling better transparency and comparability.
Sustainability reporting is a vital tool for businesses, enabling companies to manage risks, identify opportunities, and drive long-term growth. The statement highlights the flexible and proportional nature of the framework and offers practical solutions to address overcompliance challenges.
At a moment where European leaders are seeking to boost competitiveness and attract major financing to support companies’ sustainability transition, the EU sustainability reporting framework plays a key role in protecting the EU market and levelling the playing field with global players.
The statement signatories call on European and national policymakers to focus on supporting a smart and easy implementation of EU sustainability reporting standards, instead of playing ping-pong with the legal framework.
Read the full statement here: Smart implementation of EU sustainability reporting standards: make complying with rules easy
The revised EU Sustainability Reporting Standards have been significantly reduced down to just one-third of the original disclosures.
Under intense pressure to cut reporting obligations and prioritise deregulation over transparency and safeguards against greenwashing, Europe's leadership in setting sustainability standards is at risk. While the new standards provide a functional framework, their application relies on companies approaching implementation in good faith.
For the first time, the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament is relying on the support of the anti-European, right-wing groups to pass a legislative text - its position on the Omnibus 1 simplification package. This represents a clean break with the cordon sanitaire that previously kept such alliances off-limits.
As Europe’s sustainability reporting rules face intense political scrutiny, a new analysis by Frank Bold provides timely evidence that the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is already driving meaningful change in practice.
