European guidelines on sustainability: find out how to align yourself with the new measures
New European sustainability measures for companies
CSRD, GRI, CSDD, NFRD-these are some of the many acronyms for European sustainability measures dedicated to companies. New directives and standards have been adopted in recent months, and the list of these measures has definitely grown, also increasing the difficulty for companies to stay up-to-date on sustainability challenges and opportunities.
Interested in learning more about these issues? In this study you'll find 3 new European sustainability measures, when they will take effect and who they are aimed at.
In addition, the Up2You Insight team has created a free infographic with 3 practical tips you can apply to keep your company aligned with these measures.
Click here to download it for free
The European Green Deal is the strategy set out by the European Union to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
Among the goals set by the Union is to incentivize a more sustainable finance model. To do this, it has identified a progressive plan to which companies will have to respond to ensure sustainable investments.
Consistent with this plan, 3 important new measures have recently emerged:
- CSRD: Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive;
- CSDD: Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive;
- ESRS: European Sustainability Reporting Standards;
The CSRD directive: what it is about.
This new directive makes the sustainability report part of the annual financial report, eliminating the possibility of publishing sustainability information in a separate report. It also requires adual materiality analysis, combining financial materiality and ESG (environmental, social and governance) impacts.
Who are the recipients of the CSRD and when does it come into effect?
The directive will come into effect in 2024, and the companies affected will be the same ones that are already obliged to publish the DNF (Non-Financial Statement), with at least 500 employees and annual net sales of at least €50 million.
Progressive expansions are already planned, however, namely:
- from 2025, large companies with at least 250 employees and annual net sales of at least €40 million will be affected;
- from 2026 listed SMEs with more than 50 employees and annual net sales of more than €10 million;
- from 2028, subsidiaries of non-EU companies with annual net sales of at least €150 million in the EU.
Do you fall into one of these categories? We've put together an infographic with practical tips to get your company started immediately to align with this new directive.
Social and environmental due diligence: the CSDD directive
This directive obliges companies to resolve the negative impacts generated by their value chain, which includes not only product sales and production, but also marketing, distribution, etc. up to disposal activities.
In addition to the obligation to mitigate risks by developing ad hoc policies, it requires public disclosure of commitments and evaluation of their effectiveness at least once every 12 months. Severe penalties are provided for non-compliance, including fines capped at 5 percent of worldwide net sales.
When does the CSDD directive come into effect?
The directive will come into effect in 2025, and unlike the CSRD, no subsequent expansions have yet been determined.
Who are the recipients of the CSDD directive.
The recipients of the CSDD are:
- EU companies with more than 250 employees and an annual net turnover of at least €40 million;
- parent companies with more than 500 employees and worldwide net sales of at least €150 million;
- Non-EU companies with annual net sales exceeding €40 million in the EU;
- Non-EU parent companies with more than 500 employees and worldwide net sales of more than €150 million, including at least €40 million in the EU.
ESRS: the European standards for sustainability reporting
The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) will come into force in 2024 and will involve all companies that are also subject to the CSRD directive.
These define shared and comparable reporting standards for all member states.
The new standards are aligned with various European regulations and major international bodies (such as GRI), establishing guidelines on the issues and indicators that companies must include in sustainability reports; for example, climate change, water and resource management, biodiversity, human rights, labor practices, etc.
ESRS also introduces the concept of dual materiality, expanding a company's reporting scope to its entire value chain with a significant impact on the scope, volume and accuracy of information to be disclosed.
How to align your company with new European directives in sustainability: download free infographic
We have seen what new sustainability measures are coming into effect, and which companies are affected. But what can you do if your company is in one of the categories affected by these new measures?
To answer this question, the Up2You Insight team has created an infographic with 3 practical tips that you can put into action to bring your company in line with the new European directives right away, so that you don't get caught off guard.
Fill out the form below and download the free infographic now!
