"The Exemption Illusion: Why European SMEs Still Need Sustainability Data Post-Omnibus", 18 March 2026

European SMEs’ relief following the adoption of the EU’s Omnibus package may be misplaced. While their direct sustainability reporting obligations narrow, indirect obligations, contractual requirements, and greenwashing risks intensify. The truth is that there remain pressing reasons for SMEs to build sustainability data infrastructure, and do it now.

Sustainability-related due diligence and reporting are facing strong resistance. ESG (environmental, social, and governance) regulations are being challenged in the US and elsewhere. The European Union – for a long time the poster child of sustainability – is watering down its once-ambitious set of sustainability-related regulations, starting with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), through the Omnibus packages.1 In Switzerland, SIX Swiss Exchange has suspended its opt-in sustainability reporting regime as of 2026.

[...]

Savvy SMEs won’t treat sustainability data as a compliance burden to minimize. They’ll build it as strategic infrastructure that serves multiple purposes simultaneously. They’ll use strategic materiality to focus resources where social and environmental performance and business value creation align – not attempting to be good at everything but exceptional at what matters most.

The question isn’t whether your SME will eventually need sustainability data. The question is whether you’ll build that capability proactively – on your terms, aligned with your strategy – or reactively, when a client gives you 30 days to provide data you don’t have.

The SMEs that will succeed won’t be those avoiding sustainability; they’ll be the ones embracing it, measuring its impact, and using it as a lens to transform their business.