EFRAG has published a draft report on the revision of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The aim is to reduce the number of reporting requirements by at least 50%, without affecting the quality or consistency of the data provided through non-financial reporting.

It is an initiative launched following the European Commission's February 2025 proposal to reduce the administrative burden for companies. The revision of the ESRS is part of this wider endeavour, which also includes other regulations such as the CSDDD, the Taxonomy Regulation or the CBAM.

In its current form, the ESRS contains many requirements - many of them very detailed or difficult to apply in practice. EFRAG proposes to remove those that do not add real value or that can be turned into optional recommendations. The focus would be on essential information that is useful for investors and other stakeholders, without overburdening reporting with complex narrative wording or hard-to-collect data.

The changes envisaged include clearer and more effective assessment of materiality (including dual materiality) and harmonisation with international standards, in particular those of the ISSB.

The changes are based on direct feedback from companies that already apply the standards, as well as feedback from investors who use these reports. This is the first real attempt to adapt the ESRS requirements to the realities on the ground, without compromising the goal of transparency.

Estimated timetable

EFRAG has a very clear deadline set by the European Commission: 31 October 2025. By then, it has to submit a final proposal for revision to the Commission. Next steps:

1. July 2025: approval of the working form of the new standards (Exposure Draft);
2. August-September 2025: public consultation, where all interested parties will be able to submit comments;
3. October 2025: final version finalised and sent to the Commission.

   The report is available here: