EU: Omnibus lead negotiator threatens to hollow out sustainability rules, a "disappointing blow" to climate, human rights & business interests, says CSO
“EU Omnibus lead negotiator threatens to hollow out corporate sustainability rules”
In the name of ‘slashing red tape’, MEP Jörgen Warborn’s draft report on the simplification omnibus … delivers another disappointing blow to climate and nature, human rights, and long-term business interests.
The draft report proposes changes to major regulations on corporate sustainability. Notably, it suggests raising the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) thresholds to 3,000 employees and €450 million in turnover, effectively dismantling the reporting ecosystem that banks, insurers, and investors rely on, and resulting in less clarity and higher risks…
Ignoring evidence-based information, the report proposes blocking companies from requesting crucial sustainability data from business partners with fewer than 3,000 employees. Instead, it restricts them to using a voluntary, entry-level questionnaire that was never intended for robust sustainability reporting. This would severely sabotage access to information that investors, business partners, and regulators rely on…proposing to scrap Article 22 on corporate transition plans from the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) exposes companies to significant risks of fragmented litigation across different Member States…
The proposal also threatens to render the EU Taxonomy ineffective and weak by drastically limiting the number of companies required to report against it…