On 14 April 2025, Directive (EU) 2025/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. This directive amends Directives (EU) 2022/2464 and (EU) 2024/1760 concerning corporate sustainability reporting and corporate due diligence for sustainability purposes. This measure is part of the regulatory simplification package promoted by the European Commission, aimed at reducing the administrative burdens on businesses.
The new directive mainly affects the deferral of sustainability reporting requirements.
In particular:
- large companies (excluding public-interest entities) and parent companies of large groups will be required to submit the sustainability report for financial years beginning on 1 January 2027, instead of 1 January 2025. This means that the first report will be published starting in 2028;
- listed small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), excluding micro-enterprises, must submit their sustainability reports for financial years beginning on 1 January 2028, rather than 1 January 2026. This means that the first report will be published starting in 2029;
The reqiuirement remains in place, however, for financial years starting on 1 January 2024 for large companies that qualify as public-interest entities with over 500 employees.
As previously mentioned, the purpose of the extensions introduced is to prevent companies not yet covered by reporting requirements from taking early action that may prove premature or unnecessary, leading to avoidable financial and organizational burdens.
