EU Slashes Sustainability Reporting Burdens: 90% of Smaller Firms Freed from Mandatory Disclosures
Veröffentlicht: 07.07.2026 um 12:17 Uhr, Redaktion boerse-global.de
The European Commission on Tuesday published the overhauled European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS 2.0), a move that will exempt roughly nine out of ten companies from full reporting obligations. The sweeping simplification is intended to cut compliance costs while keeping the core principle of double materiality analysis intact.
Under the new thresholds, only businesses that employ more than 1,000 people and generate annual revenues above €450 million will face the full reporting requirements. That shrinks the pool of affected firms by around 90% compared to the current scope. For smaller companies, a voluntary reporting standard has been introduced. It includes a cap on information requests from the value chain — a safeguard intended to prevent large business partners from demanding excessive data. Companies with fewer than 1,000 staff also benefit from a transition period running until 2028.
The reduction in mandatory data points is equally dramatic. The number of compulsory data points falls by more than 60%, and when all data points are counted, the cut exceeds 70% relative to earlier drafts. The Commission estimates that companies will be able to lower their reporting costs by over 30%, translating into total savings of roughly €3.7 billion over five years.
The revised standards still anchor reporting in the principle of double materiality — meaning firms must report both on how sustainability issues affect their financial performance and on how their operations impact society and the environment. However, the new framework introduces a top-down approach designed to identify relevant reporting content more precisely.
The legislative process now moves to the European Parliament and the Council, which have two months to review the delegated acts, extendable by another two months. The rules are expected to enter into force three days after publication in the EU’s Official Journal, likely in the fourth quarter of 2026. Mandatory application of ESRS 2.0 will begin for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2027. Companies may also voluntarily apply the new standards from 2026. During a transitional period, firms will have the option to use the original 2023 ESRS, the new 2026 ESRS, or a combination with simplifications.
Parallel simplification efforts are underway. On 6 July, the EU supervisory agencies ESMA, EBA, and EIOPA submitted proposals to ease reporting under the EU Taxonomy Regulation, with public comments accepted until 12 August.
While reporting burdens are being lightened, enforcement on greenwashing is tightening. A comprehensive ban on misleading environmental claims is slated to take effect on 27 September 2026, bringing stricter rules against deceptive sustainability marketing that will accompany the reporting relief.
