ESG & supply chain
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
Published Reviewed
What is CSRD?
CSRD requires in-scope companies to publish standardised, assured sustainability information under the ESRS, based on double materiality and digitally tagged disclosures.
| Jurisdiction | European Union |
|---|---|
| Authority | Directive (EU) 2022/2464 |
| Current status | Phased and subject to later amendments; verify current law |
| Reviewed |
Why it matters operationally
CSRD replaces voluntary sustainability messaging with audited, standardised reporting under the ESRS — anchored in double materiality: what the world does to your business, and what your business does to the world. The first wave reported on financial year 2024. Directive (EU) 2026/470 then narrowed the ordinary EU scope to undertakings exceeding both 1,000 employees and €450 million net turnover, with the revised scope applying for financial years starting in 2027. For most companies the binding question is not "how do we write a report" but "which rules, and which year, actually apply to us" — an answer that has changed twice in two years.
Are you aware?
The dates that bind
Wave one reported first
Large public-interest companies with more than 500 employees — the former NFRD scope — published their first CSRD reports in 2025, with limited assurance over the sustainability statement.
The narrowed scope applies
For financial years starting on or after 1 January 2027, the revised ordinary EU thresholds are more than 1,000 employees and more than €450 million net turnover, assessed at entity or group level as applicable.
Revised ESRS adopted
The Commission adopted simplified ESRS and voluntary standards for smaller value-chain companies; the delegated acts apply after scrutiny and publication requirements are complete.
Where to start
- 1
Fix your wave: check entity size, listing status and group structure against the current thresholds — and date-stamp the assessment, because the thresholds are moving.
- 2
Run a double-materiality assessment across the ESRS topics; its outcome decides everything you must report.
- 3
Assign an owner to every material datapoint now — first reporting cycles fail on data availability, not on prose.
Authority links
Read the official sources
The official text is the authority. This guide is only a short orientation for operational planning.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Which companies must report, and for which year?
Former NFRD companies reported on financial year 2024. From financial year 2027, the revised ordinary EU scope requires both more than 1,000 employees and more than €450 million net turnover, subject to entity, group, national-transposition and third-country rules.
What is double materiality?
A topic is reportable if it is material from either direction: your impact on people and the environment (impact materiality), or its effect on your financial position (financial materiality). One direction is enough.
Is assurance mandatory?
Yes — limited assurance over the sustainability statement from the first report, with a possible later move to reasonable assurance. Sustainability data now needs the same evidence discipline as the financial ledger.
Does a non-EU parent escape CSRD?
No. A third-country undertaking can be reached where it exceeds €450 million EU turnover in each of the last two consecutive financial years and has the qualifying EU subsidiary or branch route. The exact group and establishment facts still control.
Side by side
Compared against
Key terms in this guide
A quick self-check
Are you ready?
- Do you know, against the current text, which reporting wave and which thresholds apply to you?
- Is your scope assessment date-stamped against the current consolidated text?
- Could you name the owner of each material ESRS datapoint today?
- Would your sustainability data survive the same assurance scrutiny as your financial accounts?
Every question above has a written, evidence-backed answer in a well-run compliance record. If one made you pause, that pause is the gap.