“Roadmap to a sustainable business model”

The EU’s proposal to revise the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) and replace it with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will ensure that the corporate reporting framework is aligned with other EU initiatives on sustainable finance, in particular the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) (EU 2019/2088) and the EU Taxonomy Regulation (EU 2020/852). The aim is to reduce complexity and the possibility of duplicate reporting requirements.

The new CSRD will ensure that companies report the information needed by investors and other participants in financial markets subject to the SFDR. Specifically, this means that reporting standards will include indicators that correspond to the indicators included in the SFDR.

Companies would be required to report these indicators along with other sustainability information mandated by the proposed CSRD. The reporting standards to be developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) under the CSRD will take full account of these indicators and will be based on the ‘substantial contribution‘ and ‘no significant harm‘ criteria of the Taxonomy.

The CSRD will extend the scope of the disclosure requirements to include all large companies, whether listed or unlisted and without the previous threshold of 500 employees. In addition, the CSRD extends the scope to include listed SMEs, excluding listed micro-entities. While a general EU-wide audit (assurance) requirement is introduced for the first time for the reported sustainability information.

Through their participation in the CSR Atelier “Sustainability Information Disclosure”, business executives will be able to understand how the forthcoming CSRD changes corporate sustainability reporting and how it affects strategic planning and business operations, addressing the specific issues arising from adapting to the new regulatory framework such as:

The requirements of the CSRD in relation to the disclosure of corporate information
The draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) being developed by EFRAG

In addition, during the CSR Atelier thematic workshops, business executives will be able to exchange views, concerns and good practices related to the disclosure of sustainability information in accordance with the requirements of the CSRD and the ESRS under development, as well as responding to the needs of the users of sustainability reports (investors, civil society and others).

In particular, the CSR Atelier for “Disclosure of Sustainability Information” is expected to have the following deliverables:

A guide for the implementation of a proactive approach to the management of the topic with examples of good practices from Greece and abroad.
“CSR Lab” podcast episodes on the topic with highlighting good practices of pioneering companies.
Publication of a thematic “CSR-Focus” on the topic.
Participation in a special high-level event on CSR and ESG issues to be held in 2023.