Governance & Policy
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
Definition
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is an EU directive, adopted in 2022 as Directive (EU) 2022/2464, that replaced and greatly expanded the Non-Financial Reporting Directive. It requires in-scope companies to disclose sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, with reported information subject to assurance.
References
Legal text, scope and reporting obligations
Policy context
Overview
What it means
It turns sustainability reporting from a voluntary practice into a legal obligation for tens of thousands of companies operating in the EU, including non-EU groups with significant EU activity.
How it is used
Companies use "CSRD" as shorthand for their reporting obligations, timelines and readiness programmes; investors and regulators use the resulting statements as a comparable data source.
Why it matters
It is the anchor instrument of EU sustainability reporting: most other EU disclosure rules, and the ESRS vocabulary, hang off it.