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The European Commission (EC) issued its first Omnibus proposals aiming to simplify several sustainability legislation on 26 February.
The Omnibus ‘stop-the-clock’ proposal postpones the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requirements by two years for companies obligated to issue their first CSRD reports in 2026 and 2027 (see our CSRD Omnibus factsheet). It also delays the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) application for the largest companies and the transposition deadline by one year.
The Council was the first to adopt its position on the Omnibus ‘stop-the-clock’ proposal on 26 March, followed by the European Parliament (EP), which approved it by a large majority (531 votes in favour, 69 against, 17 abstentions) on 3 April. To fast track the process, the EP first had to agree on the request to handle the file under urgent procedure.
With both the EP and the Council approving the EC’s original proposal without amendments, the draft law now only requires formal approval by the Council before it enters into force. The deadline for transposition is 31 December 2025.
Looking ahead, the co-legislators still have to agree on the Omnibus proposal introducing significant changes to the CSRD and CSDDD content.
The first Omnibus package on sustainability proposed adopting a delegated act to revise the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union (SIU), Maria Luís Albuquerque, sent a letter to EFRAG asking to:
The EC calls for candidates to fill in the position of the Chair of the EFRAG’s Sustainability Reporting Board (SRB). Candidates can submit their applications by midday 15 May 2025. Patrick de Cambourg currently holds the Chairmanship of EFRAG SRB.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published a report on the availability and accessibility of data on ESG risks, as well as the feasibility of a standardised methodology to identify and qualify credit exposures to these risks. It highlights:
The European Central Bank (ECB) issued a report on the EU’s current framework for tackling greenwashing. It recommends that future legislation on greenwashing should build upon the existing sustainability disclosure framework, which includes several pieces of legislation like the EU Taxonomy, the CSRD, and the CSDDD.
The legislation aims to improve transparency, set clear standards, and align companies with sustainability objectives. The report does not, however, assess nor judge the Omnibus proposals, which aim to simplify sustainability-related legislation.
The EU Platform on Sustainable Finance (PSF) proposed a voluntary and streamlined standard to help SMEs demonstrate their climate related sustainability efforts. The standard simplifies SMEs reporting their sustainability efforts to financial institutions, facilitating their access to green finance. This tool would enable SMEs wishing to voluntarily report against the EU Taxonomy to access green finance.
The PSF presented a new framework for monitoring capital flows into sustainable investments using the EU Taxonomy reporting as a starting point. It integrates regulatory and market data to provide insights into large European companies’ transition efforts. Among the findings in 2023:
The PSF report addresses three key market requests:
The U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty has introduced the Prevent Regulatory Overreach from Turning Essential Companies into Targets (PROTECT USA) Act of 2025. The legislation aims to protect U.S. companies from complying with foreign sustainability due diligence rules including the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Hagerty argues this constitutes EU overreach and threatens U.S. sovereignty.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to stop defending its climate-related disclosures and GHG. These rules were awaiting a decision in the 8th Circuit after being challenged by both the states and private parties. The SEC has already informed the court that it is withdrawing its defence of the rules, and that the Commission counsel is no longer authorised to advance the arguments in the brief the Commission had filed. Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw (Democrat) criticised this move, suggesting that the SEC is trying to take shortcuts to abolish the rules.
EFRAG
CDP and EFRAG correspondence mapping between CDP question bank and ESRS E1
EFRAG
EFRAG releases first educational videos on ESRS set 1 XBRL taxonomy tagging
EU Platform on Sustainable Finance
Platform response to the draft taxonomy delegated act consultation
CEAOB
CEAOB annual report 2024
PRI
Global responsible investment trends 2025: inside PRI reporting data
PwC
Insights from the first 100 CSRD reports
U.S. SEC
Acting chairman statement on climate-related disclosure rules
Harvard Law
2025 environmental and social developments
