Final Version of ESRS 2.0 - What you need to know and key steps to engage your internal stakeholders

The EU's sustainability reporting rulebook has just been rewritten.

On 22nd September 2026, the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS 2.0) were published in the EU's Official Journal. This was the final step in the simplification process started by the Omnibus I package.

In our recent webinar, Willow Sustainability's Galina Parmenter (Managing Director) and Neda Shishmanova (Senior Project Manager), joined by independent sustainability consultant Gabriella Lovas, walked professionals through what's in the final text, who it now applies to, and how to bring internal teams along. Here's a taste of what was covered. (Curious to see the whole thing? Scroll to the bottom of the page for the full webinar materials)

A Narrower Scope, A Leaner Standard

The CSRD now covers EU companies with more than €450m in net turnover and over 1,000 employees, with ESRS 2.0 applying from FY2027. Large non-EU groups follow from FY2028. By one estimate, around 90% of the companies originally in scope have now dropped out. For those still in, the standard itself is lighter: datapoints have been cut from 783 to 292, with added reliefs and phase-ins for the trickier disclosures.

What's Actually Changed

The double materiality assessment is where companies will feel it most. Companies can now reach top-down, qualitative conclusions where the answer is clear, and carry the DMA forward unless something significant changes. Non-material information is no longer just optional: companies shall not disclose it. Tying it all together is a new "fair presentation" principle: report what genuinely matters, and don't bury it under noise.

Simpler - But Not for Everyone

For companies building their first report, ESRS 2.0 really is more streamlined. For companies that have already reported under the 2023 standards, switching means:

• a paragraph-by-paragraph gap assessment

• an updated DMA

• bringing colleagues up to speed on what's changed

A shorter list also doesn't mean less work. Much of the effort sits in ownership, judgement and evidence an auditor will accept. That's why the session closed on people. The advice was to pick colleagues with something to gain (not just time to spare), give each of them one clear job, and tie the work to a deadline that already exists.

Do You Need to Act Right Now?

Not necessarily. Companies already reporting can stick with the 2023 standards for FY2026, and ESRS 2.0 only becomes required from FY2027. But some groundwork is worth starting today: mapping owners to each disclosure, agreeing data definitions with finance, and building an evidence trail as you go. The one thing to hold off on is datapoint-level templates, until EFRAG's final datapoint list is confirmed

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