On 22 September 2026, the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (“ESRS“) were published in the Official Journal of the EU. The European Commission also published a separate voluntary reporting standard for smaller companies (“Voluntary Standard“). The revised ESRS govern reporting by companies within the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) whereas the Voluntary stadard covers the remaining entities in the EU. The new ESRS wording is available at this link and the Voluntary Standard’s wording at this link

The revision forms part of the Omnibus I simplification package. According to the European Commission, it reduces mandatory data points by more than 60% and the total number of data points by more than 70%. The standards are intended to be shorter and clearer and to give companies greater flexibility in reporting.

The Voluntary standard gives smaller companies outside the scope of the CSRD a common framework for sharing sustainability information. It is also linked to a limit on the information that larger companies may request from businesses in their value chains.

According to the published text, the regulation revising the ESRS is due to enter into force on 10 November 2026 and apply to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027. Companies concerned can now assess how the changes affect their double materiality assessments, data collection and preparation of sustainability statements.