Leaner and more practice-oriented European sustainability standards necessary

We welcome the opportunity to comment on the first set of draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). We fully support the standardization of sustainability reporting in order to provide companies with the right set of tools for publishing accurate, verifiable, relevant and comparable sustainability information.

However, the present exposure drafts are overly complex and extensive, and lack prioritization. Also, they are unclear with respect to various concepts and definitions, contain numerous inconsistencies as well as overlaps with existing regulation, and will lead to competitive disadvantages for companies. Unless radically simplified, the disclosure requirements will put the effectiveness of the future ESRS at stake.

Below you will find the Cover Note, ESRS Survey 1 and ESRS Survey 2: