The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) entered force in January 2024 for the first wave of companies (those already subject to the Non-Financial Reporting Directive). By 2026, it will cover approximately 50,000 companies, including non-EU companies with significant EU operations.
CSRD is far more demanding than its predecessor. It requires reporting against European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which cover 10 topics across environmental, social, and governance dimensions. Reports must be digitally tagged (XBRL), included in the management report, and subject to limited assurance (moving to reasonable assurance by 2028).
The double materiality principle is particularly challenging: companies must report on both how sustainability matters affect the company (financial materiality) and how the company affects society and environment (impact materiality).
RSustain’s EU-focused advisory helps companies conduct double materiality assessments, map existing disclosures against ESRS requirements, and build the data infrastructure needed for XBRL-tagged reporting. We also train internal teams on CSRD requirements and prepare companies for assurance readiness.
CSRD will set the global standard for sustainability reporting quality. Even companies not directly subject to it will feel its influence through supply chain requirements, investor expectations, and regulatory convergence.