Sustainability Weekly — Week 19
It has been a few weeks since my last edition of sustainability weekly. The last few weeks have been pretty hectic. That also means that I have quite a bit of news to share. From uplifting stories regarding organised action, to big news in the European sustainability reporting world a lot has happened. Hopefully you all enjoy this recap. I’ll be back next week.
📝 First article comes from ESG Today.
It discusses the IFRS foundations decision to develop nature related disclosures as non-mandatory reporting requirements.
The IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) announced that it has decided to proceed with the development of proposed requirements for companies to provide nature-related disclosures in the form of an IFRS Practice Statement, instead of a mandatory standalone standard.
This has understandably caused some concern among the sustainability disclosure community, however the thing to note regarding the ISSB standards is that it is not a binding standard anywhere in the world just by itself. It always needs to be adopted into legislation by the relevant authorities, that will have the power to adopt even the non-mandatory parts as mandatory if they so choose.
This decision seems to be aimed at companies currently voluntarily applying the ISSB standard. Making the new nature related disclosures non-mandatory for ISSB standard followers will let companies move towards the new set of disclosures without causing a lot of disruption for their current efforts. In other words, they may start applying the new disclosures in their own time.
The content of the new disclosures still seems a bit hazy to me. Some outlets discuss nature related risks and opportunities, while others simply refer to nature related disclosures. The ISSB said that it aims to publish an exposure draft for its proposed nature-related IFRS Practice Statement for public comment in October 2026, so we will have to wait and see.
🇪🇺 Our European standard setters board EFRAG have released a sustainability repo...
🇪🇺 Our European standard setters board EFRAG have released a sustainability report themselves! This is exiting as it gives us an unfiltered view into how the board itself applies its own standard. Their report is based on the voluntary standard for small and medium enterprises (VSME) and it is available here: https://xbrl.efrag.org/downloads/efrag-sustainability-report-2025/EFRAG_2025_XBRL_Report_viewer.html#
We have been working on our own VSME solution, and it is very interesting and illuminating to see the difference in how we read the standard versus what EFRAG themselves have done. If you are interested in a VSME solution send me a message!
All in all, my verdict is that the report looks good, if not a little boring, but what else can you expect from an EU bureaucracy. There are some things to note into our own solution here, maybe some small changes to move closer towards this official reading of the standard. I like the simple formatting here. Good job EFRAG!
📈 This is uplifting.
ESGtoday reports that the shareholders of British petrol (BP) have voted down a resolution to reduce the company’s climate disclosures. This landmark vote was achieved by Follow this, a group of climate activists who have raised the concern regarding the resolution towards BP’s shareholders. A similar campaign is in motion aimed at the shareholders of Shell. This is good news amidst the growing price of oil globally. The vote sends a strong signal to oil companies, that shareholders want a sustainable business model. Another great reminder of what can be achieved with deliberate action and organising.
🇫🇮 I take the chance to highlight the achievements of my home country whenever possible.
This post from the European Parliament highlights the share of renewable energy consumed in each EU country. Begrudgingly I have to give respect to our western neighbours Sweden who is at the top of the leaderboard (62,8 %), but Finland is not far behind in second place (52,1 %). Hyvä Suomi!
Use your power ⚡ Choosing renewable energy helps the planet recover 🌍 A shift towards renewable energy is vital for a sustainable and independent energy supply for the EU. About a quarter of the EU's energy consumption in 2024 came from renewable sources. Sweden (62.8%), Finland (52.1%) and Denmark (46.4%) used the highest share of renewables. This Mother Earth Day, find out more about the European Parliament’s work to ensure access to clean and affordable energy: https://lnkd.in/dEkaDAiy
👨⚖️ This post comes to us from Anna Trojak:
🌿 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗦𝗥𝗗 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗢𝗺𝗻𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Directive (EU) 2022/2464, is the EU law requiring large companies to report on their environmental and social impacts using the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). EUR-Lex published a consolidated version dated 18 March 2026. This is the first version that incorporates all Omnibus I amendments as enacted law. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱: • The new scope threshold requires both 1,000 employees and €450 million net turnover. • The original two-of-three criteria test is gone. • Listed SMEs are removed from scope entirely. • Sector-specific ESRS standards have been dropped. • Companies below the new thresholds may now refuse to provide value chain information that goes beyond the voluntary SME reporting standard. • Financial holding companies meeting certain conditions are exempt. • The revised scope applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027. Wave 1 companies continue reporting under the existing rules through 2026; member states must transpose the changes by 19 March 2027. The simplified ESRS are still being drafted by EFRAG; mandatory application is expected from 2028. This is the reference text for legal teams, sustainability managers, and compliance functions currently reviewing their CSRD obligations. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eFvGejyp
The post omnibus corporate sustainability reporting directive has been released. The new directive text doesn’t have many surprises, but it is good that the industry is moving towards clarity.
💡 Along with the new omnibus aligned CSRD the European commission has also released new revised ESRS.
Andreas Rasche Of course broke the news. If you want to have a say in what the ESRS contain in the future go give the new standard a read and give your feedback! The consultation ends on 3.6.
The Commission just published the revised hashtag#ESRS for consultation. Changes and specifications were made to topics such as: materiality assessments, fair presentation, level of (dis)aggregation, anticipated financial effects. The published documents include: (1) a draft Delegated Act for the revised ESRS and (2) an Annex with the revised and updated ESRS standards. 👉 The consultation runs for four weeks (until 3 June) via the Commission's "Have Your Say" portal.
📊 In a surprising move the EU parliaments draft of the sustainable financial dis...
📊 In a surprising move the EU parliaments draft of the sustainable financial disclosure regulation (SFRD) is pushing for stricter ESG fund labelling rules after recent review of the regulation.
Key points in the proposal include stricter rules for disclosing adverse impacts, as well as reporting on sustainability-related engagement strategies for products utilizing one of the new categories of sustainable investments.
Updates are needed, as financial institutions, companies and individual investors have found the current system confusing.
A 2023 review of the SFDR framework by the Commission revealed that the current requirements of the regulation include disclosures that are too long and complex, making it difficult for investors to understand and compare the environmental or social characteristics of financial products.
Read more about the development and SFDR changes in the link below:
Sustainability Weekly
Get weekly EU sustainability reporting updates, industry analysis, and regulatory insights delivered to your feed.