Corporate Update October 2026 - Sustainability Reporting & ESG

CSRD: REVISED ESRS AND VOLUNTARY STANDARD

Two key instruments under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) have been published in the Official Journal: the Revised ESRS and a new Voluntary Standard for undertakings outside mandatory CSRD scope.

The Revised ESRS enter into force on 10 November 2026 and apply to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027 (i.e. reports published in 2028). Undertakings already reporting on financial years beginning in 2026 (reports published in 2027) have a choice: they may apply the existing ESRS framework (with certain Revised ESRS reliefs available) or adopt the Revised ESRS early.

The Voluntary Standard entered into force on 24 September 2026. It is designed to help smaller undertakings respond consistently to sustainability information requests from CSRD-reporting undertakings, lenders and investors. It also caps the information that larger companies can request from their value chain suppliers.