What are the ESRS for the new CSRD sustainability reporting? 🧐

The ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) are 12 standardized norms used by companies under the CSRD to disclose their non-financial data.

The ESRS define and prioritize the content of a company's sustainability report.

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The ESRS will help to:

• Ensure company sustainability data complies with the CSRD.
• Compare CSR performance across companies by industry sector.

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The 12 ESRS standards adopted by the European Commission in July 2023:

Cross-cutting standards:

• General requirements
• General disclosures

Environmental standards:

• Climate change
• Pollution
• Water and marine resources
• Biodiversity and ecosystems
• Resource use and circular economy

Social standards:

• Own workforce
• Workers in the value chain
• Affected communities
• Consumers and end-users

Governance standards:

• Business conduct

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For each standard, the company must address a number of Disclosure Requirements (DRs), which are themselves made up of several data points.

Data points can take various forms: numerical results, data tables, or even narrative information such as detailed action plans, operating procedures, etc.

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ESRS: Application example

Let's take the "Climate Change" standard and its DR on "Actions and resources in relation to climate change policies." This DR is composed of several data points, such as:

• Planned actions
• Climate change mitigation measures
• The budget and timeline allocated to these actions
• Their impact on GHG reduction

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⚠️ Not all companies are subject to every standard. By analyzing their business activities and developing a double materiality matrix, companies determine which ESRS apply to them and provide the required documentation.

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