Discover the key proposed regulatory changes and the impacts for your organisation
ESG Omnibus
What is the ESG Omnibus?
On February 2025, the European Commission introduced the Omnibus I and Omnibus II package, aimed at simplifying sustainability reporting requirements. The proposals introduce changes to sustainability reporting, particularly in the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the EU Taxonomy Regulation, as well as changes to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and regulations related to InvestEU and other EU investment programmes. The key proposed changes are highlighted below.
Latest updates on the ESG Omnibus
- Proposed changes in CSRD
- Proposed changes to EU Taxonomy legislation
Proposed changes in CSRD
- Narrowing the CSRD scope to large undertakings with more than 1,000 employees that also meet the minimum revenue (€50 million) or asset (€25 million) criteria.
- Delaying the sustainability reporting for large enterprises (“wave 2”) by two years, with the first reporting required for 2027 in 2028.
- Clarification and simplifications of ESRS with the ambition to reduce the reporting burden by reducing the number of mandatory datapoints and prioritization of quantitative datapoints over qualitative text, but preserving the double materiality concept.
- Removing the requirement to issue industry specific standards.
- Removing the requirement for future transition to reasonable assurance and introducing a new requirement to issue targeted assurance guidelines by 2026 instead of adopting a European assurance standard.
- Introducing a value chain cap.
- Increasing the consolidated turnover threshold for non-EU entities with significant activities in the EU from €150 million to €450 million generated in the EU and revising the criteria for subsidiaries and branches.
Proposed changes to EU Taxonomy legislation
- Proposing changes to the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act, the Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act, and the Taxonomy Environmental Delegated Act.
- Voluntary EU Taxonomy reporting for large undertakings with more than 1,000 employees and revenue not exceeding €450 million.
- An option to report activities that are partially aligned with the EU Taxonomy and to apply a financial materiality threshold for Taxonomy reporting.
- Reduction in the number of reporting templates and simplification of the most complex DNSH (Do No Significant Harm) criteria, particularly those related to chemicals and pollution prevention.
Considerations for distinct types of reporters
Join the webcast on ESG Omnibus and sustainability reporting
Thursday, March 13 | 17:00 – 18:30 CET | in English
During the webcast, we will focus on the following topics:
- The ESG Omnibus proposal and its consequences
- Key insights from the first wave of CSRD reports
- Latest developments in sustainability reporting in the US
Registration is open to all interested participants. More information and the registration link can be found here:
Next steps: the timeline of the ESG Omnibus
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The ESG Omnibus Proposal was published on 26 February 2025. The release will be followed by a 4-week public consultation period for the proposed changes in the EU Taxonomy legislation.
Step 1
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The Omnibus legislative process is expected to take around 3-4 months (fast-track) if the Commission’s proposal finds sufficient support in the Council of the EU and European Parliament.
Step 2
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The Omnibus package would then need to be approved by both co-legislators. For the EU Taxonomy Regulation amendment, once published, it will become directly applicable to all EU member states without the need for transposition.
Step 3
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Meanwhile, for the CSRD and CSDDD components, once adopted, the text provides a twelve-month period for all EU member states to incorporate it into their national law (transposition).
Step 4
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The EU Commission aims to adopt the revised ESRS six months after the proposal is published in the Official Journal of the EU, at the latest.
Step 5
Links to Omnibus, including FAQ
Detailed information about the Omnibus package, including frequently asked questions, is available on the official website of the European Commission:
To stay updated on legislative changes and their impact, we recommend following the Accountancy Europe website.
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