ESRS — European Sustainability Reporting Standards explained
Twelve standards, one directive, and a revision that just cut the workload by more than half — read from a UK company’s side of the Channel.
The standards behind EU CSRD reporting — two always apply, ten where material
The ESRS are the standards behind EU CSRD reporting: ESRS 1 and ESRS 2 set the framework, ten topical standards carry the disclosures — and the revised set adopted on 3 July 2026 cut the mandatory (“shall”) datapoints by over 60%.
Developed by EFRAG, adopted by the European Commission as delegated regulation — and unlike the ISSB-based UK SRS, built on double materialityYou report what affects your cash flows, access to finance and cost of capital AND your impacts on people and the environment — two lenses, not one. UK SRS uses the single financial lens. See double materiality..
You filed ESRS under “Brussels’ problem”. Then the email arrived.
A UK manufacturer, no EU offices, no EU listing. Untouchable — on paper.
Then its biggest customer — a German group reporting under CSRD — sends a supplier questionnaire: 0 data requests, from Scope 3 emissions to workforce policies.
That is the value chain route — and it reaches far more UK companies than the direct one. There is a capIn-scope EU customers’ requests to out-of-scope suppliers are capped at the voluntary standard adopted alongside the revised ESRS — you cannot be forced beyond it.
Three routes into ESRS — and your EU footprint picks the route
Not your postcode. Your subsidiaries, your listings, your customers.
Direct scope — a large EU subsidiary or EU listing, above 1,000 employees and €450m net turnover post-Omnibus.
Third-country — a non-EU parent above the EU turnover threshold, under the draft ESRS-40a standard.
Value chain — a supplier to someone in scope, capped at the voluntary standard.
Twelve standards — which ones would you actually report under?
Learn the map — two always, ten where material
Tap a standard. ESRS 1 and 2 apply to every reporter; E1–E5, S1–S4 and G1 only where your materiality assessment says so.
The July 2026 revision — the workload halved, on a clock
The revised standards cut the mandatory “shall” datapoints by 61% on EFRAG’s benchmark — “over 60%” in the Commission’s own words — and total datapoints by over 70%, the larger figure because every voluntary “may” datapoint was deleted outright, simplify the materiality assessment, add reliefs and phase-ins, and deepen interoperability with IFRS S1/S2 — the baseline UK SRS shares.
The Commission expects reporting costs to fall by more than 30% per company.
Your ESRS route — and the order of work it implies
This reads back the route you found above — an order of work, not a score.
ESRS reaches a UK company through its EU footprint, not its postcode — and from 1 January 2027 the revised standards decide how heavy that reach is.
ESRS in five figures
If your group’s EU turnover is anywhere near €450m, the third-country standard is your next read — and its consultation closes 31 October 2026.
Check the €450m/€200m test Or see ESRS and UK SRS side by sideWhat the European Sustainability Reporting Standards are
Companies in scope of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) must prepare their sustainability statement under the ESRS.
They were developed by EFRAG and adopted by the European Commission as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 — to be amended by the revised standards adopted on 3 July 2026, which are adopted and still in Parliament and Council scrutiny rather than in force.
Unlike the ISSB-based UK SRS, the ESRS use double materiality: what affects your cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital and your impacts on people and the environment.
ESRS 1 and ESRS 2 — the framework pair
The cross-cutting rulebook: double materiality, the value-chain boundary, statement structure, phase-in reliefs. It prescribes no datapoints itself.
Mandatory for every reporter regardless of materiality: governance, strategy, impact/risk/opportunity management, and metrics & targets — the four-pillar architecture TCFD established and UK SRS S2 uses.
Climate, pollution, water, biodiversity, circular economy; own workforce, value-chain workers, communities, consumers; business conduct. Apply only where material — and the 2026 revision deleted the anticipated-financial-effects disclosures from E2–E5 outright. What survives is the general requirement in ESRS 2 and ESRS E1-11 for climate, so a citation to “ESRS E4-6” or “E5-6” names a paragraph that no longer exists.
A separate draft standard for non-EU parent groups, made under Article 40a of the Accounting Directive. It is not part of the ESRS this page describes and it has its own scope test, its own materiality basis and its own timetable — all of which are set out on ESRS-40a and the €450m/€200m test.
ESRS for UK companies — who actually needs to care
UK groups with large EU subsidiaries or EU listings report under CSRD/ESRS — post-Omnibus, exceeding 1,000 employees and €450m net turnover.
A UK parent with no EU establishment can still be reached, on EU turnover alone, under Article 40a. That is a different test from the one above and a different draft standard — see ESRS-40a.
Far more UK companies feel ESRS indirectly — as suppliers receiving data requests from in-scope EU customers, capped at the voluntary standard.
Side-by-side regime detail: ESRS vs UK SRS and UK SRS vs ESRS; scope and thresholds: CSRD vs UK SRS.
ESRS — frequently asked questions
The ESRS are the mandatory reporting standards that companies in scope of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) must use for their sustainability statements. Developed by EFRAG and adopted by the European Commission as delegated regulation, they cover environmental, social and governance topics under a double materiality approach. A revised, simplified set — adopted 3 July 2026 — applies for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
ESRS 1 (General Requirements) is the cross-cutting standard that sets the rules of the game: double materiality, the value-chain boundary, how to structure the sustainability statement, and the phase-in reliefs. It prescribes no datapoints itself — it governs how the topical standards are applied. It is the EU counterpart to the role IFRS S1 / UK SRS S1 play in the ISSB-based system, though the materiality basis differs.
ESRS 2 (General Disclosures) contains the disclosures every in-scope company must make regardless of materiality: governance, strategy, impact/risk/opportunity management and metrics & targets — the same four-pillar architecture that TCFD established and that UK SRS S2 uses. Under the revised ESRS the anticipated-financial-effects disclosures were deleted from E2–E5 outright — what survives is the general requirement in ESRS 2 and ESRS E1-11 for climate.
The revision — the ESRS strand of the Omnibus I simplification — cut the mandatory “shall” datapoints by 61% on EFRAG’s own benchmark, “over 60%” in the Commission’s words, and deleted every voluntary “may” datapoint, which is why the total reduction is the larger figure of over 70%. No official absolute count exists: the “1,144” in circulation is EFRAG’s 2022 total for a draft, not a mandatory baseline. It also simplified the materiality assessment, added reliefs and phase-ins, and improved interoperability with IFRS S1/S2, and the Commission expects reporting costs to fall by more than 30% per company. It applies from financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027; for a financial year starting in 2026 an undertaking may instead apply ESRS (2023) as last amended by DR (EU) 2025/1416, the revised set in full, or ESRS (2023) plus eight named reliefs — and must state in its sustainability statement which version it applied.
Only if they are in CSRD scope — typically through a large EU subsidiary or an EU listing. Post-Omnibus, that entity-level test requires both more than 1,000 employees and €450m+ net turnover. There is a separate route for non-EU parent groups caught on EU turnover alone, under Article 40a of the Accounting Directive and its own draft standard — see ESRS-40a and the €450m/€200m test, which covers the scope test, the routes and the consultation in full. Most UK companies instead face UK SRS, SECR and ESOS — but UK suppliers to in-scope EU customers will receive value-chain data requests capped at the voluntary standard.
Two core differences: materiality and breadth. ESRS use double materiality (impact on people/environment plus financial), while UK SRS — based on the ISSB baseline — uses single financial materiality. ESRS span 12 standards — ESRS 1 and ESRS 2 cross-cutting, plus ten topical (E1–E5, S1–S4, G1); UK SRS currently comprises S1 (general) and S2 (climate). The revised ESRS narrowed the practical gap by cutting datapoints and improving ISSB interoperability. See our full ESRS vs UK SRS comparison.
Primary sources
Where to go next
News: EU adopts revised ESRS
The 3 July 2026 adoption — datapoint cuts, dates and UK impact
RelatedESRS-40a for third-country groups
The draft standard for non-EU parents — the €450m/€200m turnover test, and the consultation open to 31 October 2026
RelatedESRS vs UK SRS
Side-by-side: materiality, datapoints, assurance, timelines
RelatedCSRD vs UK SRS
Scope, thresholds and dual-compliance planning
RelatedDouble materiality
The EU materiality concept and how it differs from ISSB/UK SRS
RelatedUK SRS S1 & S2
The UK standards ESRS is most often compared against