ESRS Foundations

The first wave of companies is preparing to report under European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The first to report are the largest companies, but ultimately 50,000 companies will be required to report specific information under these new standards.

The standards – which will also impact many non-EU companies – have been developed and implemented at speed, with a commitment to maximising interoperability with the IFRS^® Sustainability Disclosure Standards. You will find elements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, but the ESRS requirements are much more detailed than existing standards. The first wave of companies have had to learn and adapt quickly to get ready for their first reports. For many there are new complex concepts to understand, such as double materiality and disclosing information related to a company’s value chain.

ESRS Foundations provides the framework for our guidance. It explains these new concepts and helps you to understand how your company might apply the standards. It navigates the complexity of ESRS, pulling the detailed requirements together in one place and explaining them in plain English. It also includes insights and illustrative examples to help you to anticipate some of the key impacts.

Going forward we will expand the guidance, drawing from how companies are adapting to the new reporting environment and providing further insight and guidance on emerging issues, as well as illustrative examples.

Whether you are well advanced on your implementation journey, or taking the first steps, we hope this publication will help you to meet the challenges – and realise the opportunities enhanced reporting can bring.