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Support for the Implementation of ESRS for Large Companies
On 31 May 2024, EFRAG published 3 Implementation Guidance (IG) documents for the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). These documents, shaped by public feedback, aim to help large companies with ESRS compliance by addressing materiality assessment, value chain reporting, and the list of datapoints.
Key Points:
• IG 1: Materiality Assessment: This document provides an illustrative process for materiality assessment, developing the concepts of impact materiality and financial materiality with examples. It also includes FAQs on double materiality assessment to guide the disclosure of material impacts, risks, and opportunities.
• IG 2: Value Chain: This guide outlines the reporting requirements for the value chain, from materiality assessment to policies and actions to metrics and targets. It illustrates the reporting boundary for the group for sustainability reporting, including the concept of operational control in environmental standards. A value chain map summarizes the implications for each disclosure requirement across all ESRS.
• IG 3: ESRS Data Points: This document translates the complete ESRS Set 1 list of detailed requirements into Excel format. It includes additional information such as the types of requirements (quantitative or qualitative) and whether they are subject to transitional provisions. This list can serve as a basis for a data gap analysis or data collection exercise.
Companies are encouraged to follow this non-authoritative guidance to ensure compliance with sustainability reporting requirements, which is crucial for maintaining transparency and consistency in reports. The documents provide practical explanations and concrete examples to facilitate the application of ESRS standards.
According to those modifications, the Commission shall, by 30 June 2026 (instead of 2024), specify in delegated acts:
• complementary information that undertakings are to report with regard to the sustainability matters and reporting areas listed in Article 19a(2) (information necessary to understand the undertaking’s impacts on sustainability matters, and information necessary to understand how sustainability matters affect the undertaking’s development, performance and position to integrate in the management report) , where necessary;
• information that undertakings are to report that is specific to the sector in which they operate. The Commission will also have to adopt delegated acts containing 8 of the sustainability reporting standards as soon as each is ready.
Concerning the sustainability reporting standards for third-country undertakings, the Commission will have to adopt by 30 June 2026 (instead of 2024) a delegated act supplementing this Directive to provide for sustainability reporting standards for third-country undertakings that specify the information that is to be included in the sustainability reports referred to in Article 40a.