The introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD; 2022/2464/EU) in 2023 should ensure transparent, comparable and reliable sustainability reporting as part of corporate reporting. The requirements of the CSRD will be specified by uniform, binding European standards for sustainability reporting, known as European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).
The scope of companies required to report has been gradually expanded since 1 January 2024. According to the original version of the CSRD (2022/2464/EU), listed, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will start to be required to report in 2026. However, due to the recently published Omnibus Package of the EU Commission (26 February 2025), it is possible that SMEs may no longer fall under the scope of the CSRD in the future. Whether directly or indirectly, the time may come when SMEs will be affected by sustainability reporting.

The bifa text is aimed at all companies that are obliged to report on sustainability in accordance with the ESRS. Even SMEs that may apply other simplified reporting standards can benefit from the manual. The step-by-step approach it contains for implementing sustainability reporting can be transferred to other standards.

The ESRS manual contains practical instructions and strategies for efficiently implementing the requirements of sustainability reporting. In addition, it offers further practical methods and support that are suitable for companies, players in the financial market, as well as for borrowers and auditing companies.

In addition, the essential, systematically developed simplifications and clarifications of the ESRS are presented. It is shown where and in what form existing redundancies can be resolved and complex facts can be presented more simply. Based on the optimisation potential described, this manual is intended to serve as a guide for decision-makers in politics, the financial industry and trade associations in the further development of the CSRD and ESRS.
The bifa text no. 74: ‘European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) Handbook’ is now available at www.bifa.de.

Note: The ‘Handbook of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)’ refers to the original version of the CSRD (2022/2464/EU). It does not take into account the planned changes to sustainability reporting under the European Commission's Omnibus Package of 26 February 2025.