European Sustainability Reporting Standards 

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
The requirements for sustainability reporting by companies are changing profoundly. This results from the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which came into force on January 5, 2023. The new regulations must be implemented by the member states and thus also in Austria 18 months later, i.e. on July 5, 2024.
Certain public interest companies have been required to report on their sustainability for several years. This has been regulated by the Non-Financial Reporting Directive since 2014. In this way, stakeholders can better assess companies' contribution to sustainability. This reporting obligation is now being expanded significantly and the number of companies required to report increases from 11,000 to 49,000 across the EU. Those affected are large companies in the accounting sense and capital market-oriented companies.

New regulations as of 2024:

Expanded, unified reporting requirements
In the future, companies will have to report more comprehensively and according to more uniform standards (European Sustainability Reporting Standards ESRS). Greater quantification of the report content using key figures strengthens the measurability and comparability of the information.
New understanding of materiality
The CSRD anchors dual materiality. Accordingly, companies are obliged to report on the impact of their own business operations on the environment and society as well as on the impact of sustainability aspects on the company.
External audit
In the future, sustainability reporting, like financial reporting, must be audited externally by the auditor. The depth of the examination will be gradually expanded.
Part of the management report
In order to make it easier to access sustainability information, this will be a mandatory part of the management report in the future. This shows the high importance of sustainability reporting, which should gradually be given the same status as classic financial reporting. Reporting is carried out in the uniform electronic reporting format (European Single Electronic Format ESEF).