As feared, the European Commission has presented a comprehensive package of measures designed to significantly simplify sustainability reporting and investment conditions in the EU. The aim is to ease the burden on companies, reduce bureaucracy and at the same time promote sustainable investments. A key point of the reform concerns sustainability reporting: around 80% of companies would be exempted from the previous reporting obligations. Companies would have to provide less data and some reporting obligations would become voluntary. This should reduce costs and reduce bureaucratic effort.
The situation is similar with due diligence obligations: companies would no longer have to check their direct business partners annually, but only every five years. In addition, the exchange of information with SMEs will be reduced in order to reduce their administrative burden. At the same time, civil liability at EU level is to be abolished so that companies cannot be prosecuted multiple times for possible violations.