home
news

Research: Are Businesses Embracing the ESRS and How Can Policymakers Avoid Creating Legal Uncertainty Around its Application

share this article

The study on the sustainability disclosures of 100 influential companies from high-impact sectors provides an early reflection on the general readiness for businesses in the EU to meet the expectations of the upcoming EU sustainability rules and standards. Our report contributes to identifying the main challenges, as well as to highlight emerging good practices.

Following the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), large companies will start to report in accordance with the first set of sector-agnostic European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) in 2025.

This legal framework was adopted to enhance and modernise companies reporting on sustainability matters, with the objective of addressing a market failure in providing relevant, comparable and decision-useful sustainability information.

We assessed the presence and quality of key disclosures according to the requirements and expectations of the EU Sustainability Reporting Standards on: 

  • Double materiality assessment (process and outcomes)
  • Climate-related disclosures and Transition Plans (connection to commitments,completeness and quality of disclosures)
  • Sustainability due diligence (connection with double materiality assessment, governance and stakeholder engagement)
  • Biodiversity (consideration in double materiality assessment, specific impact and metrics)

We examined sustainability statements of 100 influential EU companies in top 5 high-impacts sectors prioritised for the development of EU sector standards: Textiles, Finance, Road Transportation, Energy, Food & Beverage.

Download the study “Preparation for implementation of the EU Sustainability Reporting Standards
Download the executive summary translated to French | German | Spanish | Italian | Czech (coming soon) | Polish (coming soon)

For whom is this analysis?

The evidence and recommendations drawn from this research aims to support

  • Companies in their understanding and implementation of the ESRS
  • Auditors and supervisory authorities’ engagement with preparers
  • Policy-makers in supporting a pragmatic and common sense application of the EU rules and standards 

Why download this analysis?

  • Gain insights into current and emerging practices in companies’ sustainability disclosures according to the ESRS
  • Explore our  practical recommendations to prevent  overcompliance or “box-ticking” approaches that distract companies from essential and material information
  • Access our targeted  proposals to support implementation and consider simplification measures

Find out more during the launch webinar

On November 19, we will hold a webinar presenting the key findings and recommendations of the study. We will also put in context the main aspects gaining attention in the political sphere.

Look forward to hearing from:

  • Tom Dodd, Directorate-General FISMA, European Commission
  • Amanda Soler Guzmán, amfori
  • Aleksandra Palinska, Eurosif
  • Filip Gregor, Frank Bold
Research: Preparation for implementation of the ESRS
    (
1.8 MB
)

You may also like these news

All news
6/28/2017

How citizens pushed-through 5 anti-corruption laws

This short video explains everything you may have ever wanted to know about the Reconstruction of the State, but were afraid to ask.

Compliance and reporting under the EU Non Financial Reporting Directive

New reporting rules require certain large EU companies to include in their management report a non-financial statement. These companies need to begin gathering and auditing information in order to be prepared to publish the required information within good time after the end of the 2017 financial year. Frank Bold recently published a short guide on the Non Financial Reporting Directive that identifies who will be affected and explains how to comply with the new reporting requirements.

Launch of Corporate Governance for a Changing World: Report of a Global Roundtable Series

On September 28, Frank Bold will hold the Creating Sustainable Companies Summit gathering leading thinkers, businesses, policymakers and civil society in Brussels to chart the way to the next generation of corporations and future of corporate governance.