Commission Adopts Regulation On EU Sustainability Reporting Standards

The European Commission has adopted its Commission Delegated Regulation, setting out the first set of EU sustainability reporting standards ("ESRS"), together with a Q&A. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (EU) 2022/2464) ("CSRD") introduces requirements for in-scope companies to report against the ESRS. The standards cover the full range of environmental, social, and governance issues, including climate change, biodiversity and human rights. In the Delegated Regulation the Commission has modified EFRAG's draft ESRS by phasing-in certain reporting requirements; giving companies more flexibility to decide exactly what information is material to their circumstances; and making some requirements voluntary.