The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) are the mandatory disclosure standards issued under the CSRD. Twelve standards cover environmental, social and governance topics through a double-materiality lens.
Twelve standards adopted by the European Commission: two cross-cutting (ESRS 1 and 2), five environmental (E1 climate, E2 pollution, E3 water, E4 biodiversity, E5 circular economy), four social (S1–S4) and one governance (G1).
Key concepts
ESRS 1 (general requirements) and ESRS 2 (general disclosures).
E1 climate, E2 pollution, E3 water, E4 biodiversity, E5 circular economy.
S1 own workforce, S2 workers in the value chain, S3 affected communities, S4 consumers.
G1 business conduct.
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Glossary terms
Frequently asked questions
What is ESRS E1?+
ESRS E1 is the climate change standard. It requires disclosure of transition plans, GHG inventories across Scope 1–3, climate-related targets, financial effects of climate risks and opportunities, and use of internal carbon pricing.
How does double materiality work in ESRS?+
Companies assess each topic under two lenses: financial materiality (does it affect enterprise value?) and impact materiality (does the company affect people or the environment?). A topic is disclosed if it's material on either axis.
Are ESRS aligned with ISSB?+
ESRS and ISSB IFRS S2 are broadly interoperable on climate. ESRS goes further by covering non-climate topics and impact materiality, whereas ISSB focuses on financial materiality only.
Related regulations
- CSRDDirective (EU) 2022/2464
The enabling directive.
- ESRSDelegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772
Adopts the first set of standards.
Industry-specific guidance
Process heat, purchased electricity and upstream materials dominate manufacturers' footprints — and the sustainable-finance opportunity is proportionally large.
Transport and logistics operators sit at the intersection of Scope 1 fuel use and their customers' Scope 3 category 4 emissions — making them a priority for both green loans and SLLs.
For banks and investors, sustainability is a system-level challenge — measured, priced and disclosed across the entire balance sheet.