The Commission clarifies some sustainability reporting rules introduced by CSRD

On 13.11.2024 the EU Commission (“Commission”) has published  a set of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQ”) clarifies the interpretation of certain provisions on sustainability reporting introduced by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, ‘CSRD’ (Directive (EU) 2022/2464)) into the Accounting Directive (Directive 2013/34/EU), the Audit Directive (Directive 2006/43/EC), the Audit Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 537/2014), and the Transparency Directive (Directive 2004/109/EC) with the aim of facilitating their implementation by undertakings.

Key clarifications on companies’ duties:

• SMEs (excluding micro-undertakings) with transferable securities admitted to trading on an EU regulated market may decide not to report sustainability information under Article 19a of the Accounting Directive for financial years starting before 1 January 2028 (e.g. for financial years 2026 and 2027). In such cases, the SME shall, nevertheless, briefly state in its management report why the sustainability reporting was not provided;
• an SME with securities admitted to trading on an EU regulated market that voluntarily publishes the consolidated sustainability statement referred to in Article 29a of the Accounting Directive shall be exempted from preparing and publishing the individual sustainability statement referred to in Article 19a of the Acc...