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Friday | January 30, 2026 | Dhaka

Sustainability Reporting: EU pushes back deadline to 2028

Published · Updated

Staff Reporter :

The European Commission has announced a significant delay to its landmark corporate sustainability reporting directives, providing businesses with additional time to prepare.

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will now
come into force in 2028, while the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) will be implemented from July 2028, a year later than initially planned.

This means that companies will have an extra year to address human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains. Businesses will now only need to assess their supply chains for compliance with CSDDD every five years, compared with once a year, which was proposed before the directive was published.

Both directives require businesses to report widely on environmental factors, including impacts on climate change and marine systems; human rights factors, such as employment rights; and governance factors, including business ethics and corporate culture.

These directives apply to all businesses within the Eurozone and UK firms operating in the EU, with the aim of promoting greater transparency and accountability regarding environmental and social impacts. The delay follows widespread concerns from businesses struggling to restructure supply chains and meet stringent reporting requirements.

In a further adjustment, the Commission has narrowed the scope of the CSRD. Initially, the directive’s carbon emissions reporting requirements will now only apply to companies with more than 1,000 employees and a turnover exceeding US $53 million, significantly easing the burden on smaller businesses.

Additionally, the frequency of supply chain assessments for CSDDD compliance has been reduced. Companies will now be required to conduct these assessments every five years instead of annually, postponing the full impact of rules aimed at addressing human rights and environmental risks in global supply chains until the next decade.

Despite the extended deadlines and reduced scope, the reporting requirements remain significant. Companies are encouraged to use the extra time to implement necessary changes and ensure compliance, as the fundamental objectives of the sustainability directives will still be expected when they take full effect.