As part of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) Omnibus, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) published Exposure Drafts of the simplified European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), along with additional guidance including:

- Log of Amendments, to clarify what changed

- Basis for Conclusions, for why they changed

- Non-Mandatory Illustrative Guidance (NMIG), to clearly separate the non-mandatory content from the disclosure requirements within the ESRS

Proposed amendments

While the Exposure Drafts are subject to change based on feedback received during public consultation, they provide a glimpse at the amendments proposed for the final simplification. 

EFRAG's proposed amendments revise and add content, to help:

- Clarify requirements and address implementation challenges

- Better align with the International Financial Reporting Standards Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS SDS) and other global reporting standards

- Highlight specific principles-based concepts like Fair Presentation

For additional clarity of the Standards, the amendments also remove content, such as redundancies and superfluous information. 

As proposed, this simplification:

- Removes all voluntary datapoints, which instead appear in the NMIG

- Reduces the total number of mandatory datapoints

- Introduces a limited number of new datapoints

What you can do to prepare

When finalized, the updated ESRS will be available in Sustainability Explorer. And, as the ESRS simplification continues to evolve, Workiva is focused on helping ease the adoption of the new version, for as smooth a transition as possible. 

However, don't wait until then to get ready for the change!

- Respond to EFRAG's Survey on the Exposure Drafts by September 29 to provide your feedback during the public consultation. 

- With the simplified DMA process and documentation, strategize how best to assess the double-materiality of sustainability topics, and refine your list of stakeholders to engage for more efficiency.

- With more flexibility in how your company organizes its information, think about how you manage your sustainability data, and identify areas where you can improve.

- Identify redundancies in your sustainability report — particularly between the General Disclosures and Topical Standards — and any granular narrative requirements added for compliance and not utility.

- Research what other consultants and experts — such as Ropes & Gray or EY — have to say about the simplification and how it impacts preparers.

To learn more about the ESRS in Sustainability Explorer, view Explore European Sustainability Reporting Standards in Support Center.