Set 1 of ESRS finally adopted - guidance documents announced

The first set of twelve sector-agnostic ESRS for reporting on environmental, social and governance matters has been finally adopted. With the end of the co-legislators' scrutiny period, Set 1 of ESRS is now integrated in the European legal framework. On 21 October 2023, the deadline for possible objections by the European Parliament as well as the Council of the European Union to the Delegated Act on European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) adopted by the European Commission on 31 July 2023 ended.

The regulation will be published in the EU Official Journal later in 2023 and will apply from 1 January 2024 for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024.

According to the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), several implementation guidance documents on key topics - in particular on materiality analysis, the value chain and the overview of data points for gap analysis - will be published for public feedback in the coming weeks. EFRAG is also opening a Q&A platform to foster a dialogue with stakeholders. This is to support them in their implementation process and in understanding the ESRS. In addition, EFRAG says it plans to publish the exposure drafts for SME standards for consultation in January 2024.