Corporate Sustainability Reporting Quick Guide (CSRD)

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ("CSRD") is an EU directive that requires relevant companies to report extensive sustainability information in a dedicated section of their annual reports. Although this is an EU directive, reporting may be required of companies in any country around the world.

Reporting will initially require a limited assurance audit, but will eventually progress to a full reasonable assurance audit.

Reporting under the CSRD must be done in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards ("ESRS"). The first set of ESRS, which are "sector agnostic" and apply to companies most directly affected by the three ESG pillars, include standards on climate change, pollution, water and marine resources, biodiversity and ecosystems, resource use and circular economy, own workforce, value chain workers, affected communities, consumers and end-users and business conduct. (Susanne McMenamin, Fergus Bolster, Garret Farrelly, more at lexology.com)