In early October, Kerstin Lopatta resigned as Chair of the Sustainability Reporting Board, less than six months after she had been appointed to the role for a three-year term. A week later, on 8 October 2026, EFRAG’s General Assembly appointed Kristian Koktvedgaard as Acting SRB Chair.He will lead the Board’s work until a new Chair is appointed through a procedure that includes a nomination by the European Commission in consultation with the Council and the European Parliament. This will probably take many months.
Turbulence in the most important position in the sustainability reporting pillar certainly does not help EFRAG build a strong international position at a time when many processes shaping reporting at the global level are under way. We have been living with uncertainty since Patrick de Cambourg completed his mission at the turn of November and December 2025. Kerstin Lopatta was only appointed several months after that, and a few months later she resigned. My impression is that the European Commission did not ensure that the selection and appointment process was run properly.
In this difficult situation, however, the appointment of Kristian as Acting Chair gives me hope. He has been involved in developing the ESRS from the very beginning and has always shown good judgement and sought consensus when balancing the aims of different stakeholders. He has worked with Chiara Del Prete, Chair of the Sustainability Reporting TEG, for many years, so I am confident that cooperation between the two bodies, the Board and the TEG, will once again run smoothly, as it did in Patrick’s time.
EFRAG has several months of intensive work ahead. The public consultation on the “ESRS-40a” exposure drafts is coming to an end. These are the standards that, from 2028, will be used for reporting by groups headquartered outside the European Union. The final draft is due to be submitted to the European Commission by the end of January 2027. If you have not yet taken part in the consultation, I certainly encourage you to do so. It is worth it, if only to strengthen the position of European companies against their non-European competitors. Those of you who read my newsletter closely will guess that I am referring to the so-called mixed approach, a bizarre mechanism that discriminates against European companies. I described it a few months ago, but I will come back to it in one of the upcoming newsletters.
In addition, last Friday, 16 October 2026, EFRAG launched a consultation on its work plan for 2027–2029.It runs until 15 February 2027, but don’t leave your response until the last minute, because the deadline falls at the height of the reporting season. Your responses will determine what kinds of support EFRAG will be able to offer companies in the coming years 😊
P.S. This Friday, 23 October 2026, I am running an online training on the simplified ESRS. Details and registration are on the MATERIALITY ACADEMY website. Two hours of pure substance!
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