Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
CSRD
Definition
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) — Directive (EU) 2022/2464 — requires in-scope companies to report detailed, standardised sustainability information using the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). It replaced the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) with far more detailed requirements. The scope was significantly narrowed by the Omnibus Directive (EU) 2026/470, published in the Official Journal on 26 February 2026.
Scope after the Omnibus (March 2026)
The Omnibus package reduced the number of companies in scope by approximately 80%:
| Company Type | Threshold | |-------------|-----------| | EU companies | More than 1,000 employees AND more than €450 million net turnover | | Non-EU companies | More than €450 million net turnover generated in EU | | Listed SMEs | Removed from mandatory scope entirely |
Reporting timeline post-Omnibus:
| Wave | Companies | First Report | |------|-----------|--------------| | Wave 1 | Former NFRD companies (>500 employees) — already reporting | FY 2024 (published 2025) | | Wave 2 | Companies meeting new Omnibus thresholds | FY 2027 (published 2028) |
European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)
CSRD reporting follows the ESRS framework (adopted as Commission Delegated Regulation, July 2023):
- ESRS E1–E5: Environmental topics — E5 covers resource use and circular economy
- ESRS S1–S4: Social topics
- ESRS G1: Governance
ESRS E5 is the most relevant standard for DPP-regulated industries: it requires disclosure on material resource flows, recyclability, recycled content, waste generation, and circular economy strategies.
Double materiality
CSRD introduces the double materiality concept as a core reporting principle — see the Double Materiality definition for detail. Companies must assess both how sustainability issues affect the business (financial materiality) and how the business impacts the world (impact materiality).
Connection to DPP
Product-level data from Digital Product Passports — carbon footprint per unit, recycled content percentages, recyclability data — feeds directly into CSRD disclosures under ESRS E1 (climate) and ESRS E5 (circular economy). Companies building DPP data infrastructure are simultaneously building their CSRD reporting data layer.
Related terms
- Double Materiality — the core CSRD assessment methodology
- EU Taxonomy — the classification system used alongside CSRD reporting
- Digital Product Passport (DPP) — product-level data that feeds CSRD reporting
- Carbon Footprint — a key ESRS E1 disclosure metric