On December 14, 2022 the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (‘EU’ or the ‘Union’), with regard to proposal(s) from the European Commission (‘EC’ or the ‘Commission’) and with regard to ‘The European Green Deal’ (the ‘Green Deal’) adopted a ‘Corporate Sustainability Reporting’ Directive (CSRD). This directive draws from and iterates many distinct efforts of the EU, and it even amends previous legal orders, directives, and regulations.

The EU describes the Green Deal, a precursor EU legislative initiative that considers international stakeholders across continents, as follows; “The Green Deal is the new growth strategy of the Union. It aims to transform the Union into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy with no net emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by 2050. It also aims to protect, conserve and enhance the Union’s natural capital, and protect the health and well-being of Union citizens from environment-related risks and impacts.”

The EU further describes the Green Deal as aiming “to decouple economic growth from resource use, and ensure that all regions and Union citizens participate in a socially just transition to a sustainable economic system whereby no person and no place is left behind.”

The EU Green Deal is expected to “contribute to the objective of building an economy that works for the people, strengthening the Union’s social market economy, helping to ensure that it is ready for the future and that it delivers stability, jobs, growth and sustainable investment.”

The Commission set forth delegated acts for ‘European Sustainability Reporting Standards’ (ESRS) that are expected to be reviewed each subsequent three years, “taking into consideration the technical advice of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG).”

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the EFRAG was tasked by the Commission in 2025, to review and to improve clarity of the ESRS. PwC shares that “in February 2025 the Commission published the first ‘Omnibus’ package intended to simplify EU reporting rules related to the EU Green Deal, and in March 2025 mandated EFRAG to revise ESRS, with Amended ESRS delivered by EFRAG in November 2025, and with expected EC adoption of Amended ESRS by mid-2026.”

PwC and other reputable financial institutions that offer assurance and advisory services over EU sustainability reporting standards, identify the Environmental, Social, Governance, and cross-cutting standards that form overarching categories for the initial set of standards, as sector agnostic and therefore apply to most in-scope business sectors. ESRS as of 2025 requires business entities (corporations and other companies) to disclose information about their impact on ‘Environmental’ factors, specifically E1) climate change mitigation, E2) climate change adaptation, E3) water and marine resources, E4) resource use and the circular economy, E5) pollution, as well as E6) biodiversity and ecosystems.

ESRS as of 2025 requires business entities to disclose information about their impact on ‘Social’ and human rights factors that PwC and others identify as S1) own workforce, S2) workers in the value chain, S3) affected communities, as well as S4) consumers and end-users.

ESRS as of 2025 requires business entities to disclose information about their impact on ‘Governance’ factors that PwC and others identify as G1) business conduct.

PwC and others identify ESRS cross-cutting standards that are beyond Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) topical standards, to include 1) general requirements and 2) general disclosures that adhere to ESRS as of 2025.

The Vegan Digest realizes that, if you operate a business in Europe or are employed by a company that has notable operations in Europe, current ESRS thresholds to scope-in business entities or future ESRS thresholds may have your business or employer strongly consider better eco-conscious and employee practices.