EU: From 2024, large companies will need to publicly disclose information on the way they operate social and environmental risks

From 2024, large companies will need to publicly disclose information on the way they operate and manage social and environmental risks.

On Tuesday, 21 June 2022, MEPs and EU governments struck a provisional agreement on new reporting rules for large companies. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will make businesses more accountable by obliging them to disclose their impact on people and the planet. This aims to end greenwashing and lay the groundwork for sustainability reporting standards at global level.

New EU sustainability standards

The new EU sustainability reporting requirements will apply to all large companies (with over 250 employees and a 40 million euro turnover, as defined in the Accounting directive), whether listed or not. Companies will have to report on their impact on the environment, human rights, social standards and work ethics, based on common standards.

The agreement stipulates that the information companies provide on their impact on the climate or human rights will be independently audited and certified. Financial and sustainability reporting will be on an equal footing and investors will finally have access to reliable, transparent and comparable data.

Subcontractors

MEPs successfully insisted that non-EU companies with substantial activity in the EU market (150 million euro in annual turnover in the EU) will have to follow equivalent reporting rules. Member states will supervise compliance with the help of the Commission.

A handful of SMEs listed on public markets will be subject to lighter reporting standards. MEPs managed to secure the possibility for them to opt out of the new system until 2028. MEPs also inserted guarantees so subcontractors can only be asked by their contractual partners to provide information according to a lighter version of reporting standards.

Following steps

Parliament and Council will have to formally approve the agreement before it is published in the EU Official Journal. It will enter into force 20 days after publication and its provisions will have to integrated into member states’ national laws after 18 months.