The revised ESRS: what changed in 2026

How did the revised ESRS come about?

The CSRD requires companies in scope to report using the ESRS. The first set, adopted in July 2023, covered general requirements and disclosures, five environmental topics, four social topics and business conduct. The Omnibus I Directive asked the Commission to simplify them. EFRAG, the EU's technical adviser, delivered revised standards in December 2025; the Commission consulted on a draft delegated act in May 2026, adopted it, and after scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council it was published on 21 September 2026. It enters into force on 10 November 2026. See the CSRD after the Omnibus.

What changed in the revised ESRS?

• Fewer datapoints: the Commission says mandatory datapoints fall by more than 60% and total datapoints by more than 70%, and expects reporting costs to fall by more than 30% per company.
• Clearer materiality: double materiality remains the basis of reporting, with clearer instructions on how to apply it, including a top-down approach that starts from the company's business and strategy; see running a double materiality assessment.
• Mandatory and voluntary datapoints separated: companies can see more easily what they must report and what is optional.
• More flexibility: on anticipated financial effects, on omitting information that would require undue cost or effort, and on value chain information.

The topical standards still cover climate change, pollution, water, biodiversity, resource use and the circular economy, a company's own workforce (see ESRS S1), value chain workers, affected communities, consumers and business conduct (see ESRS G1). The general requirements are in ESRS 1 and the general disclosures in ESRS 2.

The revised ESRS: a wave 1 company's 2026 report

A listed EU group that has reported under the CSRD since 2024, and remains in scope after the Omnibus, is preparing its sustainability statement for its 2026 financial year, which began on 1 January 2026. It has three options.

Whichever option it chooses, it must state in its sustainability statement which version of the ESRS it applied. Many groups choose the revised standards or the selected reliefs to cut work in 2026, ahead of mandatory use in 2027. Because the group is above the new thresholds, the member state option to exempt wave 1 companies for 2025 and 2026 does not apply to it; that option covers only companies that fall below the thresholds. See CSRD wave 1 relief.

Which reliefs can be used with the existing standards in 2026?

The selected reliefs include the top-down approach to the double materiality assessment, the undue cost or effort exemption, limits on value chain information, relief for acquisitions and disposals during the year, partial value chain reporting, relief for joint operations, simpler presentation of EU Taxonomy disclosures, and an executive summary. They let a company keep the structure it built for earlier reports while reducing the work. See EU Taxonomy reporting.

What stays the same?

The CSRD itself is unchanged in its basics: companies report under double materiality, covering their impacts on people and the environment as well as the sustainability matters that affect them financially, in a sustainability statement within the management report, with limited assurance. Climate remains the most detailed topic, and ESRS E1 still requires scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions under the GHG Protocol, and disclosures on transition plans and targets. See scope 1 and 2 emissions. See ESRS E1 on climate change.

What is the voluntary standard?

At the same time, the Commission adopted Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560, a voluntary sustainability reporting standard for companies outside the CSRD's scope, mainly smaller companies. It also sets the limit on what CSRD reporters can ask of value chain companies with up to 1,000 employees, from financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027. Smaller suppliers that use it have a clear, limited set of information to give their large customers. See the value chain cap.

How do the revised ESRS relate to the ISSB standards?

The ESRS use double materiality, while the ISSB standards use financial materiality, but the climate requirements were designed to be largely interoperable, so much of what a company reports under ESRS E1 also meets IFRS S2. Groups reporting under both still need to map the differences, for example in how anticipated financial effects are presented. See IFRS S2 climate disclosures and sustainability reporting explained. See the ISSB standards and ESRS compared.

This guide is general information. It is not tax or legal advice for your situation.