The deadlines of the CSRD

Copia di BLOG (1)

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) has replaced the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). In summary, these are the main innovations:

  • applicability to all large enterprises and to all listed SMEs
  • introduction of the concept of double materiality (double materiality, that is, double relevance)
  • introduction of common reporting standards (ESRS - European Sustainability Reporting Standards)
  • introduction of "limited assurance"
  • obligation of digitization/tagging of reporting.

But what are the application deadlines?

The CSRD directive provides for a progressive and staggered implementation of reporting obligations. Since these are statements issued by companies at the end of the fiscal year, the entry into force in year X entails data collection in year X-1.

Let's see for which companies the publication of sustainability reports becomes mandatory, and when:

  • listed companies with over 500 employees: starting from January 2025, they will publish the sustainability report for the fiscal year 2024
  • large unlisted companies: starting from January 2026, they will publish the sustainability report referring to the fiscal year 2025
  • Listed SMEs on financial markets: starting from January 2027, they will publish the sustainability report referring to the fiscal year 2026.
  • non-European companies that generate a turnover of at least € 150 Million within the European Union: starting from January 2029, they will publish the sustainability report for the fiscal year 2028.

It is estimated that around 50,000 companies in the European Union will be included in the CSRD, of which 8,000 are in Italy. This represents a significant increase compared to the 11,000 companies in Europe – of which 200 are in Italy – that currently have to prepare the "Non-Financial Information" in accordance with the previous sustainability reporting standard.

(to be continued)