Omnibus is a confirmation that sustainability is important for companies in the EU

💭 ESRS standards require disclosure, not performance.

In practice, this means that companies could meet the ESRS standards by:

• Acknowledging that reducing negative and creating positive impacts is not part of their strategy.

• Not having developed a climate transition plan because they do not plan to stop using the cheapest fossil fuels in transport for some time.

• Not having established sustainability reporting processes.

• Not having adopted policies related to environmental protection, employees, or consumer protection…

BUT…

Companies clearly believe that this would affect the support they receive from stakeholders and impact their reputation. So, when they realized that, according to the standard, they had to transparently say, 'we don't have this,' they began simultaneously implementing what they didn't have, which, of course, led to 'administrative (over)burden.' Then, they realized that it was easier to lobby for the reporting obligation to be postponed or canceled.

What really disappoints me about pausing the reporting is that we had the opportunity to create a benchmark—a database at the EU level where we could see the average across industries and company sizes. This would allow us to define what 'high emissions' or a 'low gender pay gap' means. We could compare Company A with Company B, C, and D, and see if it's below, above, or on average, and based on that, draw conclusions about it.

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By eliminating the legal obligation for sustainability reporting, socially responsible companies, with less 'fake' competition, will now stand out more easily and win clients for whom sustainability remains a key criterion in procurement. :)

With this move, the Commission hasn’t simplified anything; it has made it even more complicated. Companies are now questioning whether other laws could also be revoked, which only adds to the already uncertain world we live in today.