The September package of legislative measures and proposals from the European Union brings fundamental shifts in the areas of sustainability, consumer protection, ESG reporting and energy efficiency. EU regulators are responding to the need for a fairer green transition, reducing administrative burden for businesses and tightening rules against misleading environmental claims. The new directives and delegated regulations affect a wide range of sectors - from retail and financial markets to data centre operators and importers of industrial goods.

Empowering consumers and combating greenwashing

On 27 September, the new Directive on Consumer Empowerment in the Green Transition entered into force. Its main objective is to ensure that consumers receive truthful and verifiable information when purchasing goods. According to the new rules, consumers must be transparently informed about the durability of products, their reparability, as well as their environmental and social impact.

The directive also sets strict rules for traders and manufacturers:

• Sustainability comparison: Traders who compare products in terms of sustainability are required to disclose the comparison methods used and the sources of their data.
• Commercial guarantees: Manufacturers offering a commercial durability guarantee beyond the two-year statutory guarantee must inform consumers of this fact.
• Prohibition of deceptive practices: The legislation strictly prohibits the use of sustainability labels that are not supported by official certification schemes. General environmental claims, false information about durability or repairability, and persuading consumers to replace products before they are technically necessary are also prohibited.

ESRS simplification and value chain relief in CSRD

In the area of corporate sustainability reporting, the European Commission adopted delegated regulations on 21 September simplifying the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) under the CSRD and introducing voluntary standards. The amendment regulates the assessment of materiality and provides relief from the most demanding disclosure requirements. It gives companies more flexibility in collecting data on the value chain and in estimating the expected financial impact. These simplified rules will apply from accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2027.

At the same time, a separate regulation was published on 21 September, setting out voluntary reporting standards for companies protected by the so-called value chain cap. This cap limits the scope of sustainability information that entities subject to the CSRD can request from their suppliers. The protection applies to companies in the supply chain with an average number of employees of no more than 1,000 in the previous financial year. The voluntary standards will govern reporting from 1 January 2027.

Machine-readable digital taxonomy for ESRS

Following the ESRS amendments, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) published a draft digital taxonomy for the revised ESRS on 17 September. This draft establishes a technical basis for representing sustainability disclosures in a machine-readable format and follows on from the August 2026 data list.

Although the digital labelling of ESRS reports is not yet mandatory – as the regulatory framework has yet to be defined by the European Commission – EFRAG plans to submit the final taxonomy to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Commission by the end of 2026. The public consultation on this proposal is open until 11 November 2026.

Sustainability and energy efficiency of EU data centres

The rapid growth of digital infrastructure has necessitated targeted regulation of the energy intensity of data centres. On 21 September, the Commission adopted a delegated regulation as part of the Energy Efficiency Package, introducing a common EU rating system and sustainability label for data centres in support of the revised Energy Efficiency Directive.

The rating system applies to individual data centers with an installed IT power demand exceeding 500 kW. Performance evaluation will be based on the following criteria:

• Energy efficiency and efficient use of water,
• Use of renewable energy sources,
• Reuse of waste heat,
• Flexibility of the electrical network.

Operators of the affected centres will have to report mandatory data on energy, water, heat and renewable energy consumption. The first official sustainability labels are expected to appear in 2027, following parliamentary scrutiny.

In addition, on 21 September, the Commission launched a public consultation on minimum performance standards for data centres, which will run until 14 December 2026. This consultation addresses challenges in the areas of energy consumption, carbon emissions, network demand and water consumption and will inform a legislative proposal planned for the second quarter of 2027.

Changes to the Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR)

Under the EU Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR), the European Commission published a delegated regulation on 17 September to amend and simplify the list of commodities subject to due diligence obligations:

• Product disposal: Cowhides, leather, retreaded tires and soybeans intended for sowing are excluded from the list.
• New commodities from December 30, 2027: Instant coffee, selected palm oil derivatives and frozen beef tongues are added to the range.
• Exceptions granted: The regulation clarifies that the requirements do not apply to test samples and introduces exemptions for waste, used products, packaging materials and inputs intended for medicinal products.

Strengthening Carbon Border Adjustment (CBAM)

The European Parliament took an important step in the legislative process of reforming the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on 15 September, when it adopted its negotiating position on the amendments. MEPs supported the extension of the scope of the CBAM to downstream products, namely finished steel and aluminium products.

Parliament also strengthened anti-circumvention rules and rejected a proposal to create a safeguard measure that would allow goods to be temporarily excluded from the scope of the CBAM during price shocks on the market. The proposal is currently in the legislative process.

Reformed Sustainable Finance Framework (SFFR)

The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) voted on 10 September to adopt its position on the revision of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). MEPs propose the introduction of three standardised categories of financial products: sustainable, transient a basic ESG.

The following rules apply to each category:

• Transitional products must exclude companies that generate revenue from fossil fuel exploration or extraction, unless they meet strict conditions.
• All three categories must strictly exclude investments in companies that violate human rights.
• The obligation to disclose adverse sustainability impacts will be limited to the largest financial market participants.
• Investment firms will have to carry out mandatory due diligence and annual monitoring for categorized products. The proposal is still in the legislative process.

The extensive changes to EU legislation in September show a twofold trend: on the one hand, the EU is simplifying administration and providing flexibility for smaller businesses and supply chains, but on the other hand, it is tightening rules where there is a risk of greenwashing, carbon leakage or high energy burden. For businesses operating in the European market, this means the need for timely adaptation to the new standards, which will gradually enter into force in 2026 and 2027. JRi&CO2AI 

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