Belgian Awards for Sustainability Reports’ Post

Swedish laws are not in line with #CSRD, according to the Commission. In its December infringement package, the Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Sweden for failure to transpose CSRD correctly.   Reasoned opinions adopted on 16th December 2024 include one for Sweden, were the Commission calls on Sweden to correctly transpose the new rules for the reporting of sustainability information by companies introduced by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. The European Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion to Sweden (INFR(2024)2195) for failing to bring its legislation in line with the Accounting Directive (Directive 2013/34/EU), the Transparency Directive (Directive 2004/109/EC) and the Audit Directive (Directive 2006/43/EC), as amended by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) (Directive (EU) 2022/2464). The CSRD introduces new rules for the reporting of sustainability information by companies. These rules apply from financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024, depending on the company size.   👀 The national transposing measures adopted by Sweden require companies to start reporting information for financial years beginning on or after 1 July 2024. 👁️🗨️ This is not in line with the CSRD as Sweden delays the application of sustainability reporting requirements by half a year. By introducing this delay, Sweden risks creating an unlevel playing field between EU companies in different Member States. The Commission is therefore sending a reasoned opinion to Sweden, which now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.   💥 What this means: Companies should be aware of this mismatch in timeline under national law in Sweden. CSRD is a directive requiring national transposition (so national laws), but the minimum requirements and principles are set in the directive itself. When in doubt, the directive's requirements (here CSRD) are a good starting point in line with precautionary principle and risk management. Sweden as a member state could go to European Court of Justice for failure to transpose CSRD correctly, and to be ordered to amend its laws accordingly. Following this closely 👀 #sustainabilitylaw #esg #sustainabilityreporting #sustainability

The Commission calls on 17 Member States to fully transpose the CSRD! ⏰ The European Commission decided to open #infringement procedures by sending a letter of formal notice to 17 Member States, Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Finland, for failing to notify their national measures transposing fully 📌the Accounting Directive (Directive 2013/34/EU), 📌the Transparency Directive (Directive 2004/109/EC) 📌and the Audit Directive (Directive 2014/56/EU), as amended by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (#CSRD) (Directive (EU) 2022/2464). The CSRD introduces new rules on #sustainabilityreporting. It requires large companies and listed companies (excluding micro-undertakings) to disclose information on the social and environmental risks they face, and on how their activities impact people and the environment. This helps investors and other stakeholders to evaluate the sustainability performance of companies. The new sustainability reporting rules apply from financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024. In the absence of #transposition of these new rules it will not be possible to achieve the necessary level of harmonisation of #sustainabilityreporting in the EU and investors will not be in a position to take into account the #sustainability performance of companies when making investment decisions. The 17 Member States concerned have not yet communicated full transposition into national law of the provisions of the CSRD. The transposition deadline expired on 6 July 2024. The Commission is therefore sending letters of formal notice to the concerned Member States, which now have ❗️two months ❗️to respond and complete their transposition. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

What happens to the countries that are not transposing the #CSRD in time? Countries that fail to transpose the CSRD on time may face EU infringement proceedings, which can lead to fines and legal action by the European Commission. For companies, this creates legal uncertainty, potentially affecting compliance, investor confidence, and market access. Once the law is transposed, businesses may face retroactive compliance, increasing costs and pressure. Additionally, delayed transposition undermines the harmonization of sustainability reporting across the EU, causing inconsistencies between member states. Yesterday, the European Commission has announced that it has sent letters to 17 EU member states, opening infringement proceedings with them over their failure to communicate that they have fully transposed the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) into their national laws. Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Estonia, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Slovenia and Finland are among the countries receiving the letters. As of the beginning of 2024, the CSRD is applicable to large public-interest organizations with more than 500 employees, with the first reports being issued in 2025. The next year, companies with 250 or more employees or €40 million in revenue will be required to submit reports, followed by listed SMEs one year later. #EU infringement procedures allow the Commission to take legal action against EU member states that fail to implement EU laws, beginning with a letter of formal notice. As a result of the letter, the Commission may send a reasoned opinion with a formal request to comply with the law, and may then refer the matter to the Court of Justice for review and punishment. States had until July 6, 2024 to transpose the CSRD into national laws, but the Commission said it is still urging 17 states to do so. The 17 member states have two months from the date the Commission sends the letters to respond and complete the transposition. After that, the Commission may issue a reasoned opinion.

⏳ The Countdown to #CSRD Compliance has begun! ⏳ With only a few months remaining, the clock is ticking for affected organizations to achieve compliance ✅ with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This directive aims to enhance the quality of sustainability reporting by requiring companies to disclose information on their sustainability-related impacts, risks and opportunities (IROs) 🌍 By improving #transparency and #comparability in corporate sustainability performance, the CSRD empowers investors and stakeholders to make more informed decisions. What about Germany? In Germany, as in other EU member states, the CSRD must be transposed into national law to take effect. However, delays in the legislative process have raised concerns. The Institute of Public Auditors in Germany (IDW) recently published a circular to its members, outlining the consequences of a delayed transposition of the CSRD into German law. The IDW clarifies that if the legislative process is not completed by the end of 2024, the law will not come into force for the 2024 reporting period: The existing legal framework for non-financial (group) reporting obligations under the CSR-RUG (2017) will remain applicable for 2024. 📢 Our recommendation: Stay ahead and proceed with implementation activities – CSRD is coming. 🙋♂️ Questions? Feel free to reach out to Carsten Auel or me. #Deloitte #CSRD #IDW

===CSRD transposition : Belgium is part of it!=== The commission starts putting pressure on states that still need to transpose #CSRD in their local frameworks. Deadline was July 2024. Commission gave them 2 additional months to transpose. #esg #sustainability #sustainabilityreporting #esgreporting

On 24 July 2024, four months after the publication of the draft bill, the German Federal Cabinet adopted the government draft to transpose CSRD into German law. In doing so, the EU Member State fell short of the EU deadline (6 July 2024) by just over 2 weeks. Germany represents 24% of all EU CSRD report preparers and more than 11 000 undertakings (CEPS 2022). The government draft was published on the website of the German Federal Ministry of Justice together with a synopsis and an information paper: https://lnkd.in/eKY4hUGv The information paper is interesting. It specifies that CSRD is transposed according to the so-called “1:1 principle”, meaning that the requirements of European law should not be exceeded: “The burdens of EU law should not be increased by national regulatory ambitions, as was often the case in the past through so-called ‘gold plating’.” The paper also answers the question “why did Germany not prevent the directive from being adopted at EU level?”: “The CSRD negotiations were already largely conducted by the previous government. They were practically completed when the new federal government came into office. It would have isolated Germany if it had tried to stop what the previous government had promised at the last minute.” “A German rejection would not have prevented the adoption of the CSRD. The federal government therefore decided to participate constructively in order to at least push through improvements to the drafts in favor of companies.” The information paper also specifies that: “The extent of the reporting obligations is largely determined by the European sustainability reporting standards, which were only adopted as a delegated act in 2023 - one year after the agreement on the directive. The Federal Government did not support the decision on the European sustainability reporting standards.” Source: https://lnkd.in/e79G4usp   Stay tuned for more CSRD and ESRS insights.    #getCSRDready, #CSRD, #ESRS, #CSDDD, #ESG, #Strategy, #Governance, #SustainabilityReporting, #Digitalisation, #CleeritESG

Administrative burden reduction: Accountancy Europe’s first specific recommendations 🖊️ As we welcome the European Commission’s efforts to reduce administrative and reporting burdens for #EuropeanCompanies while maintaining policy objectives, Accountancy Europe expresses concern that amending recent sustainability legislation, such as the #CSRD, may not allow sufficient time to learn from #practical experience and could undermine trust in #EULegislation. The European Commission should balance #simplification with preserving legislative #integrity, minimising disruption to ongoing compliance efforts, and focusing on alleviating provisions yet to be implemented. If the Commission decides to move forward, our suggestions for how this could be achieved include: - Differentiate between categories of ‘large entities’ and introducing less demanding sustainability reporting requirements for them, staggered over time. - Ensure global alignment and cooperation on sector-specific standards, and considering making these voluntary for certain categories of ‘large entities’. - Consider a retrospective assessment of the #EUTaxonomy to inform targeted adjustments and evaluating whether the concepts between CSRD and #CSDDD should be aligned. ⏩ Visit our website to read our recommendations: https://lnkd.in/djXERD5K. Johan Barros #OmnibusPackage #AdministrativeBurdenReduction

***𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐒𝐑𝐃*** 🟢 The implementation of the #CSRD at the national level was expected by July 6, 2024. However, that has not been the case for Italy and other Member States, where the implementation deed is still in the #pipeline. 📚For now, a #draft text of the implementation legislative decree in Italy is public for reading. The national legislation has echoed the provisions of the CSRD in terms of scope, exemptions, content of the sustainability report and publicity, but a few additions are expected. 💡Specifically, the draft text 1. Clarifies #directors’ #responsibility around the CSRD obligations and confirms the directors’ duty to act with #duediligence 2. Charges the #supervisorybody with the duty to #monitor compliance with the provisions of the decree 3. Requires companies to obtain a minimum level of limited #assurance on the sustainability report 4. Defines the applicable #sanctions in case the reporting obligations are breached Companies shall get prepared! 🧑🧑🧒 We at Bird & Bird are working together with EU and non-EU companies to design #customized #ESG #strategies for being compliant with the CSRD, maintain a strategic position on the market (even when the company is not directly in-scope of the CSRD), and create ESG valuable and protectable #databases and archives to expand companies’ #know-how. Let’s see what the future holds! #connectinglawandpeople #twobirdsitaly #commercialteamItaly #whatsustainabilitymeanstous Afra Casiraghi Lucrezia Guidarelli

Yesterday, the Federal Cabinet in Germany approved the Federal Ministry of Justice's draft law on corporate sustainability reporting. “We had high hopes that Independent Assurance Service Providers (IASP) like DEKRA would be included in the German government's draft law on sustainability reporting”, comments Dr. Fabienne Beez, Head of DEKRA’s Political Representation in Berlin. “The European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) explicitly provides for this possibility. Given the high demand – approximately 15,000 companies in Germany alone will be affected by the implementation of the CSRD – it is crucial now to bring together the proven strengths of the TIC (Testing, Inspection, Certification) industry and leverage their comprehensive expertise. This was also evident during the association hearing, where significant voices from the German economy advocated for this. We therefore urgently appeal not to let the remaining opportunities pass during the parliamentary process and to adjust the draft legislation accordingly.”   We will continue to monitor developments and keep you up to date on this matter. It remains to be hoped that the parliamentarians will make adjustments in the interests of companies subject to reporting requirements after the summer break. #DEKRA #CSRD #SustainabilityReporting #CorporateSustainability

🎉 CSDDD approved in European Parliament! In the last few minutes, the European Parliament voted in favour of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (#CSDDD). The word “transformative” is often overused, but in this case, there is no doubt. Unlike most sustainable finance policy developments, this law is not about disclosure, but action. Some may argue, after all the negotiations, the CSDDD has lost its teeth. I’d beg to differ. It’s not perfect, and a much smaller group of companies are in scope of the law than should be. But legislators have made a significant achievement. Many aspects of this law are, or nearly, aligned with the international standards for #duediligence under the UNGPs and OECD Guidelines, which all policy makers should be aspiring to. This directive will pave the way for policy makers worldwide to finally act on not what companies should disclose about sustainability – but what they should actually do, now, to be sustainable. Next steps – the Council must do a final rubber stamp on 15 and 23 May, then the CSDDD will be published in the Official Journal of the EU, to be transposed into national Member State law in the next two years (approximately by September 2026). PRI will publish a briefing note in the next few days – keep your eyes peeled 👀