The European Commission has launched a targeted consultation on proposed standards governing the independent assurance of corporate sustainability reporting.
The consultation was announced on 12 November by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, with the Commission seeking feedback from businesses, auditors, investors and other stakeholders.
The draft standards concern the limited assurance requirement under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), through which large companies that meet certain size thresholds are required to disclose information about their sustainability performance. That information must be independently reviewed by an external assurance provider.
Omnibus I
The consultation follows on from the introduction of the Omnibus I simplification package, which involved reporting and due diligence requirements for many companies in order to ‘reduce complexity and enhance efficiency’. Under Omnibus I, companies would be required to obtain limited assurance rather than progressing towards a more demanding reasonable assurance requirement.
‘This approach keeps the requirement on companies proportionate, while ensuring that sustainability disclosures remain subject to independent scrutiny,’ the Commission said in a statement.
Technical advice
The draft limited assurance standards were prepared using technical advice from the Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies (CEAOB), with the Commission also taking into account existing international standards and the particular requirements of the EU legislative framework.
‘The consultation launched today invites feedback on the CEABOB’s technical advice, as well as on their proposed adjustments to the international standard, it added. ‘In addition, the consultation invites views on how the standard can work most effectively within the EU context.’
The consultation is open to companies preparing sustainability reports, auditors, independent assurance providers, investors, users of sustainability information, standard-setting organisations, supervisory authorities and civil society groups. Responses can be submitted until 18 January 2027. Read more here.
