EU lawmaker pushes for deeper cuts to corporate sustainability rules

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on ESG News or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Jörgen Warborn, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the Omnibus regulatory package, has proposed sweeping cuts to EU corporate sustainability rules, exceeding even the European Commission’s initial rollback suggestions
• His draft raises reporting thresholds under the CSRD and CSDDD to firms with 3,000 employees and €450 million in annual revenue — excluding most EU companies from mandatory ESG disclosures

🔭 The context: The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) were adopted to ensure transparency and accountability in environmental and human rights impacts across supply chains
• However, business groups and some lawmakers have pushed back, citing administrative burden and economic competitiveness
• Warborn’s amendments reflect growing political momentum within the European People’s Party for deregulation

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Diluting corporate sustainability obligations undermines the EU’s climate and biodiversity goals by reducing visibility into high-impact sectors and value chains
• Exempting most companies, limiting supply chain accountability, and making climate transition plans optional could weaken incentives for emissions reduction and responsible sourcing at scale — at a time when corporate transparency is critical for tracking sustainability performance and enabling effective policy intervention

⏭️ What's next: The proposed changes will be debated in the European Parliament before entering trilogue negotiations with the Commission and Council later this year
• With positions ranging from full repeal to defense of the original directives, intense political negotiation is expected
• The outcome could reshape the trajectory of EU sustainable finance regulation

💬 One quote: “I’m entering this process with a clear ambition: to cut costs for businesses and go further than the Commission on simplification,” — MEP Jörgen Warborn (EPP)

📈 One stat: Under the proposed thresholds, a majority of EU companies — those with fewer than 3,000 employees — would be exempt from sustainability reporting under CSRD and CSDDD.

Click for more news covering the latest on corporate sustainability