The European Commission has extended the deadline for the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) to submit its technical advice on simplifying the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The new deadline is November 30, 2025, granting EFRAG an additional month to refine its recommendations.
In an effort to reduce reporting complexity, EFRAG previously committed to cutting mandatory ESRS data points by at least fifty percent. In its latest response, the Commission set forth clear expectations for the revised standards:
- No new data points should be introduced;
- Voluntary disclosures must be evaluated for their added value, and if retained, voluntary data points must remain voluntary; and
- The standards should be significantly shorter, focusing only on strategically important information.
This extension also allows EFRAG to lengthen its public consultation period to 60 days, giving stakeholders until September 30, 2025, to share their feedback and help shape the future of ESG reporting in Europe.
What this means: A welcome opportunity for companies, auditors, and sustainability professionals to influence more streamlined and effective reporting standards.
In principle, no new data points should be added to the ESRS. Similarly, data points that are currently voluntary ("may") should not be made mandatory ("shall")
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