The draft standards presented by the Commission differ to some extent from those submitted by EFRAG to the EC in November 2022. I consider the changes to be minor, but some of them will affect how companies fulfill their sustainability reporting obligations in the first few years.
The draft regulation is available on the Commission's website at.
The Commission has decided to increase the role of materiality testing in the reporting process. ESRS 2 General Disclosures will be mandatory. All other thematic standards, as well as all disclosure requirements and data points contained therein, will be subject to materiality testing. EFRAG proposed that ESRS E2 on climate change and a number of individual disclosure requirements and data points resulting from legal provisions requiring financial institutions to report on ESG issues should also be mandatory. The Commission's proposal means increased uncertainty for companies and will, in my opinion, result in more meticulous verification of the process and results of the materiality assessment by auditors.
Another change introduced by the Commission is the possibility of delayed application of certain disclosure requirements. Provisions of this type have already been introduced into the draft standards by EFRAG, while the EC has proposed additional ones. Companies with fewer than 750 employees will be able to omit reporting on greenhouse gas emissions in scope 3 or specific disclosure requirements relating to employees in the first year of application of the standards. The same companies will be able to omit reporting on biodiversity and ecosystems, employees in the value chain, affected communities, and consumers and end users in the first two years. All companies will be able to omit reporting on the expected financial effects related to environmental issues and certain information on employees in the first year. I consider the Commission's use of the phase-in mechanism to a greater extent than proposed by EFRAG to be a facilitation for companies, in particular those that are just starting to report on ESG issues. This mechanism does not affect the consistency of the entire system of standards, as all disclosure requirements and data points covered by it remain in place, only companies will start reporting some of them with a certain delay.
Another change proposed by the Commission is to make certain disclosure requirements optional rather than mandatory. This applies, among other things, to the possibility (rather than the obligation) to present a transition plan related to biodiversity and ecosystems in the report. This change sounds quite attractive from the point of view of companies, but the relevant disclosure requirement in ESRS E4 remains. It will still be mandatory to describe the impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities related to biodiversity, as well as the resilience of the business model and strategy to changes in biodiversity and ecosystems; however, it will be optional to present the transformation plan adopted and implemented in this regard. A similar change concerning non-employees who perform work for the company also left in ESRS S1 the requirement to present a fairly detailed description of these persons. The changes from „shall” to „may” are rather superficial in this situation and, in my opinion, only cause confusion for those who will be responsible for preparing the report.
The Commission has also introduced a number of minor changes aimed at achieving greater consistency with existing EU legislation and bringing it more into line with international standards such as those issued by the IFRS Foundation and the GRI standards. Any move that avoids double reporting within the EU must be considered appropriate.
A quick review of the drafts published by the Commission shows that the changes are minor, confirming the high quality of the materials prepared by EFRAG. However, there are still a few elements in the standards that could be improved. That is why it is worth participating in the consultation by filling out form available on the EC website. The increase in the importance of materiality testing will have the greatest impact on companies. However, this is a topic that requires a more in-depth analysis, which I will present in the coming weeks.
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