Full translation: 80 % of companies are released from environmental action

On Wednesday, the Commission proposed a major regulatory dismantling package (Omnibus) to strengthen the competitiveness of European companies.

The aim is to reduce the reporting obligation, especially for small and medium -sized businesses.

In practice, the Commission’s proposal would mean that about 80 % of European companies would be exempt from mandatory environmental reporting obligations.

The Commission justifies its new line by the fact that the largest companies are likely to have a greater impact on the climate and the environment than smaller companies.

Large companies, on the other hand, are offered additional funding for carrot to support a clean transition.

Four points

At the heart of the reform is four legislation, which are part of the Green Deal of the Green Deal in the previous Commission.

The focus is now on the Directive (CSRD) for Sustainable Development of Corporate Sustainable Development, Corporate Sustainable Development Diligence Directive (CSDD), EU taxation on sustainable investment, and CO2 Emid Emissions Border Tax (CBAM).

According to amendments, the implementation of the Directive on sustainable development reporting is postponed by two years.

In addition, only companies should be reported with more than a thousand employees and has a turnover of more than EUR 50 million or a balance sheet over EUR 25 million.

The new rules would reduce the number of companies covered by the law from 50,000 to about 10,000.

However, companies must continue to report both their exposure to climate risk and the impact of a company on the environment.

The bill also proposes that the obligation to collect the data collection of companies be reduced by 50 % and that the sectoral reporting standards to be issued next year will be abandoned.

In addition, environmental taxonomy would volunteer for about 85 % of companies. This means that companies will no longer need to report whether they work in line with the list of financial activities considered to be green in the EU.

The carbon border mechanism would be changed so that about 90 % of the importers of the goods covered by the tax are exempt from tax, as they account for only about one percent of import emissions.

Savings and criticism

If the Commission’s proposals are approved and implemented, they are estimated to bring about EUR 6.3 billion to the annual administrative costs of companies.

In addition, the Commission estimates that the reforms would mobilize public and private investments for 50 billion.

However, the European Parliament and the EU Council, the Member States, must accept the Commission’s proposal before it becomes law.

According to critics, the proposal significantly waterates the obligations of sustainable corporate development, especially to the extent that companies are held responsible for human rights violations and environmental damage.

For example, according to Finnwatch, the Omnibus package published by the Commission threatens to destroy the entire Corporate Responsibility Directive, as the Commission proposes that the so-called duty of care included in the Directive, as a rule, to businesses, subsidiaries and the first stairs of the production chain.

“Everyone knows that the biggest risks of environmental and human rights are often not within groups or on the first step in the production chain,” says Finnwatch researcher Anu kultalahti.

According to him, the Commission’s proposal is “downright harmful” for corporate responsibility because it guides companies to use resources for work that can be completely useless.