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24 January, 2025

In remarks in Budapest late last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen indicated plans to consolidate the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and the EU Taxonomy Regulation into a single piece of legislation (the “Omnibus ESG legislation”).  

She argued that this would streamline disclosures and make compliance less burdensome for companies. On the face of it, a streamlined approach will appeal to many companies struggling to manage complex and overlapping legislation. But what does this mean for companies who have already invested time and resources in navigating the existing regulation? Does “streamline” inevitably mean “dumb down”? Is this change an attempt to keep European businesses competitive, particularly faced with a new US administration that seems unlikely to be interested in raising the bar on climate and sustainability reporting? And what should you do if you’re already half way through (or even further along) preparing your first CSRD-compliant report?  

Earlier this month, Claire and Giles sat down with our friend Dan Gray from Mishcon Purpose over a cup of coffee to discuss all this (and more!). You can read the transcript of our conversation here: Good-Business-Consolidating-EU-sustainability-legislation.pdf.  

By Claire Jost