Some 90% of European firms plan to continue sustainability reporting, despite many being removed from mandatory reporting by the EU Omnibus simplification package, a new study by osapiens has found.
As osapiens’ study, Beyond Compliance: Sustainability Reporting After the Omnibus, noted, for many organisations, reporting has ‘evolved from a regulatory obligation into a critical business function’.
“The results indicate a clear preference for reporting continuity among larger firms that were exempted under the Omnibus I package,” commented Andreas Rasche, professor at Copenhagen Business School.
“This development brings voluntary reporting and beyond-compliance strategies firmly to the forefront of the future sustainability agenda.”
The study surveyed 403 decision-makers, including executives responsible for sustainability, compliance, finance, supply chains and technology, from businesses across the United Kingdom, the DACH region, Benelux countries and France.
Key findings
As the study noted, 86% of companies excluded from the scope of the CSRD following Omnibus remain confident that they can produce reports aligned with CSRD-level standards, while 88.9% said that they expect to increase investment in sustainability reporting tools and automation over the coming year.
Some 90% of firms said that sustainability reporting is already integrated with their financial reporting processes, either partially or fully.
Areas in which sustainability data is used in ‘high-impact business decisions’ include operational and resource planning (52.8%); innovation and process design (47.7%); financial planning and investment decisions (38.1%); and supply chain risk assessment (38.1%).
In terms of the key benefits that firms see from sustainability reporting, improved visibility into climate, supply chain, and operational risks was cited by 49.2% of respondents.
Other benefits cited included stronger investor confidence through auditable information (43.8%), meeting customer and partner reporting/audit requirements (43.8%), and better integration of finance and sustainability decision-making (43.3%).
Despite commitment remaining strong, the study also highlights what it describes as a ‘sustainability paradox’ – with 84.5% of respondents expecting that reduced regulatory pressure may lead to fewer internal resources being allocated to sustainability reporting.
‘No longer a compliance exercise’
“For the past years, the regulatory trajectory was largely one-directional: more requirements, more companies in scope,” added Alberto Zamora, co-founder and co-CEO of osapiens.
“The Omnibus package has changed this direction. However, our data shows that when the obligation is removed, companies don’t step back. They have realised that reporting is no longer merely a compliance exercise, but a part of how they understand risk, allocate capital and grow sustainable.” Read more here.
