EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) & ESRS
The EU's mandatory sustainability reporting regime: double materiality, ESRS data points and external assurance.
- Jurisdiction
- European Union
- Status
- Phasing in
- Applies to
- Large EU companies and listed companies, plus non-EU groups with significant EU turnover. Scope was narrowed through the 2025 Omnibus simplification.
- Timeline
- 2023 — First set of ESRS adopted by the European Commission
- FY2024 — First wave (companies previously under the NFRD) reports
- 2025 — 'Stop-the-clock' delays later waves; Omnibus package narrows scope and trims data points
- Ongoing — Simplified ESRS and final thresholds: confirm current status at the source
- Last reviewed
- June 2026
What it requires
Companies in scope report sustainability information in a dedicated section of the management report, following the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Reporting rests on double materiality: a topic is material if it affects the company's financial position, or if the company has significant impacts on people or the environment.
What practitioners actually do
- Run a double materiality assessment and document the process and thresholds
- Map material topics to ESRS disclosure requirements and data points
- Build controls over the data so it withstands limited assurance
- Prepare for digital tagging of the sustainability statement
Why it matters for your work
CSRD turned sustainability reporting into an audited, regulated discipline. Even after the 2025 simplification, companies in scope need people who can run materiality assessments, own data pipelines and work with assurance providers.
Watch for
Timelines and thresholds changed during 2025. Check the Commission's page for the current scope before telling a client whether they're in.