Implementation of CSRD across the EU: A delay in corporate sustainability reporting?

Member States were supposed to implement the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (hereafter " CSRD ") into national law by July 6, 2024. Most missed this deadline to finalize their laws. Travers Smith spoke to specialist advisers across 23 EU member states to find out what clients should look out for when completing their scope analysis, considering the nuances of reporting or assessing the risks of not reporting in accordance with the law.

To date, most businesses assess their CSRD exposure using the provisions of the Directive itself – a sensible approach when the lead time for the first CSRD report is long and for some the reporting deadline is as early as next year. It is also important to note that Member States generally transpose the provisions of the Directives quite faithfully, although differences may arise, especially in the case of "minimum harmonisation" Directives such as the Chemical Safety Directive, which sets a minimum but not an upper limit for standards. established by national law. This was seen in the case of the predecessor of the CSRD, the Directive on Non-Financial Reporting (hereafter “ NFRD "), in which some countries extended the scope to companies that were not included in the original directive.

1. Current status
2. Scope of national legislation
3. Reporting standards
4. Timing of messages
5. Fines
6. Next steps
7. Post script

(Sarah-Jane Denton, Alexandra MacBean, more at lexology.com)