Sector-specific standards being drafted for corporate sustainability reporting in Europe will be delayed to prioritise additional guidance on general standards issued last November. The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), the body responsible for creating the European sustainability reporting standards (ESRS) used by corporates to comply with EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), said it was adjusting its workplan, adopting a “modified timetable” for its work on sector-specific standards and standards for SMEs. “EFRAG fully recognises the need to translate a legal and regulatory framework into a real operational success and does not underestimate the significant potential challenges that are faced by all stakeholders”, it said, noting that it was now developing an ESRS implementation support function. Last week, the EU Commissioner for Financial Services Mairead McGuinness called on EFRAG to “prioritise its efforts on that first set of horizontal standards”, and expressed hope that this first set of standards would be published for consultation soon. Large firms operating in Europe are expected to report under the CSRD from January 2024.
Commissioner @McGuinnessEU has publicly called on EFRAG to prioritise its efforts on capacity building for the implementation of the first set of ESRS over the preparatory work for the draft sector-specific standards.
Read more here ▶️ https://t.co/CsVZ6jIH3q pic.twitter.com/cwADFcogxN
— EFRAG (@EFRAG_Org) March 29, 2023
