Policy Brief - Green Disclosure: Red Tape or Strategic Tool?
Diluting reporting obligations risks creating uncertainty, weakening Europe’s competitive edge in green innovation, and sending conflicting signals to companies and financial institutions
While simplification is a legitimate objective, we caution that an excessive rollback of requirements risks undermining both European and global sustainability goals
Download the Policy Brief
Executive Summary
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) marks a crucial step for the European Union in consolidating a new approach to reliable sustainability data. It aims to make ESG disclosures mandatory for a large number of companies, extending beyond previous frameworks to cover not only climate change, but also pollution, biodiversity, resource use, social issues, and governance.
Adopted in December 2022, the CSRD establishes phased-in reporting obligations for large companies, listed SMEs, and certain non-EU companies operating in the EU. It introduces the principle of double materiality, requiring companies to disclose not only how sustainability issues affect them, but also how their activities impact society and the environment.
For the first time, an EU-wide audit requirement is introduced to enhance the reliability and comparability of sustainability information, aiming for a level of assurance similar to that required for financial data.
Despite these advances, the CSRD has faced criticism for its complexity and potential burden on European companies. With the start of the new Commission’s mandate in 2024, a strong political push for simplification led to the “Omnibus proposal”—a package aimed at reducing administrative costs and increasing competitiveness.
The omnibus directive proposes to drastically reduce the scope of companies subject to CSRD (by up to 80%), raise reporting thresholds, postpone requirements by two years, and streamline the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), including a significant reduction of data points and a shift to voluntary reporting for most SMEs.
While simplification is a legitimate objective, we caution that an excessive rollback of requirements risks undermining both European and global sustainability goals.
The rationale for the omnibus package—geopolitical tensions, economic headwinds, and diverging international standards—should not overshadow the long-term necessity of credible sustainability data. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and systemic risks to natural capital persist irrespective of short-term economic pressures or policy shifts in other jurisdictions.
Diluting reporting obligations risks creating uncertainty, weakening Europe’s competitive edge in green innovation, and sending conflicting signals to companies and financial institutions that have already invested heavily in compliance.
Moving forward, the European Union should avoid short-term deregulatory measures that risk fragmenting the single market. Reliable sustainability reporting is not a mere bureaucratic exercise, but a strategic asset that supports the EU’s unity, competitiveness, and leadership in the transition toward a sustainable economy.
SDA Bocconi - Via Sarfatti 10, Milano
24/06/2025, 08:30 - 24/06/2025, 17:30
Click here to register for the event
The past ten years have witnessed a global effort to enhance the disclosure of sustainability-related data.
However, concerns about its relevance have recently emerged, prompting the European Commission to propose a ‘simplification’ of the CSRD legislation through its omnibus proposal.
In this context, SDA Bocconi School of Management and the Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi seek to foster a constructive dialogue among companies, public authorities, and regulators.
Keynote Speeches
Mary Schapiro, ex-chair SEC, ex-chair TCFD, Bloomberg
Sabine Mauderer, Vice President of the Bundesbank, NGFS Chair
Confirmed Speakers
David Craig, TNFD
Chiara Del Prete, EFRAG
Pascal Durand, former MEP and rapporteur of CSRD at the European Parliament
Taylor Francis, Watershed, US company providing data computing for CSRD reports
Hirotaka Hideshima, Norinchukin Bank, TNFD
Andrea Illy, Chairman illycaffè co-Chair Regenerative Society Foundation
Kathrin Madl, Alperia
Alessia Mosca, Crédit Agricole
Alessandra Perrazzelli, Banca d’Italia
Veronika Pountcheva, IFRS
Lucia Silva, Generali
Martin Stuchtey, CEO, Landbanking Group
David Vaillant, BNPP
Jean-Roch Varon, CEO EY
France Pablo Zalba Bidegain, Deloitte EU affairs
Sylvie Goulard
Sylvie Goulard is President of the Deutsch Französisches Institut (Ludwigburg, Germany) and Vice President of the Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University (Milano, Italy). She is also Professor of Practice at SDA Bocconi.
Aure Keraron
Aure Keraron is a double-degree student from HEC Paris (economics) and AgroParisTech (agricultural development). She is now working as a Research Assistant on the European Green Deal at the IEP@BU with Sylvie Goulard.
The IEP@BU Mission
Founded by Bocconi University and Institute Javotte Bocconi, the Institute for European Policymaking @ Bocconi University combines the analytic rigor of a research institute, the policy impact of a think tank, and the facts-based effort of raising public opinion’s awareness about Europe through outreach activities. The Institute, fully interdisciplinary, intends to address the multi-fold obstacles that usually stand between the design of appropriate policies and their adoption, with particular attention to consensus building and effective enforcement.
The Institute’s mission is to conduct, debate, and disseminate high-quality research on the major policy issues facing Europe, and the EU in particular, its Member States and its citizens, in a rapidly changing world.
It is independent of any business or political influence.
The IEP@BU Management Council
Catherine De Vries, IEP@BU President
Daniel Gros, IEP@BU Director
Sylvie Goulard, IEP@BU vice-President, Professor of Practice in Global Affairs at SDA Bocconi School of Management
Silvia Colombo, IEP@BU Deputy Director
Carlo Altomonte, Associate Professor at Bocconi University and Associate Dean for Stakeholder Engagement Programs at SDA Bocconi School of Management
Arnstein Assve, Professor in Demography at Bocconi University
Valentina Bosetti, professor of Environmental and Climate Change Economics at Bocconi University
Elena Carletti, Dean for Research and Professor of Finance at Bocconi University
Eleanor Spaventa, Professor of European Union Law at Bocconi Law School
 |
|
 |
|