European Sustainability Reporting Standards
The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) specify sustainability information for companies reporting under the applicable European Union framework. They use double materiality and cover cross-cutting and topical environmental, social, and governance disclosures about material impacts, risks, opportunities, policies, actions, targets, metrics, and related governance and strategy.
In simple terms
ESRS translate the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive's reporting duties into disclosure requirements. A reporting company performs a double materiality assessment, applies general presentation rules, and reports the information required for matters found material, subject to the legal text's mandatory elements, phase-ins, and transition provisions. The standards address the undertaking and relevant upstream and downstream value-chain information. As of 12 August 2026, the standards in Delegated Regulation 2023/2772 remain legally operative as amended; a Commission-adopted July 2026 revision is awaiting the steps required before it enters into force.
Why it matters
ESRS establish a common structure for EU sustainability reporting and connect impact information with financially relevant sustainability risks and opportunities. They affect data collection, controls, governance, assurance, and digital reporting. Because both the CSRD and ESRS have changed, users need to identify the reporting period and legally effective version before applying requirements or comparing reports.
Example
For example, an in-scope company identifies climate and workforce matters as material under both ESRS perspectives. It reports the required governance, strategy, impact, risk, opportunity, policy, action, target, and metric information using the standards and transition provisions legally effective for that reporting year.
How it differs
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
The CSRD is the EU legislative framework creating and governing reporting duties. ESRS are the detailed standards that specify the sustainability information used to fulfill those duties.
IFRS S1
ESRS use double materiality and serve the EU reporting framework. IFRS S1 focuses on sustainability-related financial information useful to primary users of general purpose financial reports, with use determined by jurisdictional adoption or other requirement.
References
- Implementing and delegated acts — CSRDEuropean Commission
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 on sustainability reporting standardsEUR-Lex
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1416 amending the application dates of certain ESRS disclosuresEUR-Lex
- Commission adopts revised sustainability reporting standardsEuropean Commission
Current status
- As of
- Issuer
- European Union
- Jurisdiction
- European Union
- Instrument or version
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772, as amended; Commission-adopted 2026 revision pending
- Status
- The ESRS in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 remain in force as amended; the Commission's 3 July 2026 revised ESRS are not yet in force pending scrutiny and Official Journal publication.
Applicability: The standards apply through the current CSRD framework and reporting timetable; an entity must use the legal text and amendments effective for its reporting period.