The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is a significant piece of sustainability regulation put in place by the European Union (EU), which aims to increase transparency and accountability in corporate sustainability practices. It mandates that large companies with the EU-regulated market-listed securities will need to report according to CSRD requirements.
This is part 3 of our CSRD journey, read also part 1 and part 2.
In March 2025, the European Commission published the ‘Omnibus’ package of proposed changes to the implementation of the CSRD. Omnibus aims to simplify the reporting requirements under the CSRD, for example by reducing the number of disclosure requirements or data points that companies are required to report against. Meanwhile, changes to the implementation timeframe give companies that fall outside the first implementation ‘wave’ additional time to prepare for the directive's requirements.
We have reported for the first time on the CSRD (ESRS) over FY2024 to our majority shareholder Wendel. Wendel also needs to report over this year, so we are also preparing this year to report again to Wendel on Climate (ESRS E1), Pollution (E2), Own workers (S1) and Business conduct (G1).
An adjusted timeline
Stahl’s reporting team started working on our CSRD readiness in 2023 – the original ambition was to be fully prepared for reporting in 2026 over the 2025 financial year. Under the proposed Omnibus changes, Stahl will now be required to report in 2028, over the 2027 financial year. Any other changes to the reporting requirements are yet to be decided.
In 2024, our preparations included a review of our double materiality assessment (DMA), a stakeholder survey, and a gap analysis to identify the sustainability disclosures that are applicable to Stahl. We also started to establish a global CSRD reporting platform, which we will continue to develop once further clarity is available about the updated requirements.
While we remain committed to the principles of the CSRD, we also recognise the need for the Omnibus changes, which are expected to help the regulatory burden (and costs) for companies like ours, allowing them to focus on the most material topics where they have the biggest impact.
However, many of the specific changes arising from the Omnibus package have still to be finalised. We hope that the Commission will soon provide an update for companies to continue preparations towards a more transparent and accountable reporting system.
Staying the course
While the regulatory landscape in Europe continues to evolve, we are ready to embrace whatever comes our way. After all, sustainability reporting is not new to Stahl: we have been formally reporting on our sustainability ambitions and achievements since 2013.
Our approach to ESG goes beyond compliance: we see it as a strategic opportunity to explain what we already do, to learn how we can further improve and maintain a structural dialogue with our key stakeholders.
As we await the final details of the Omnibus simplification package, we are fully committed to reporting to our stakeholders about our sustainability ambitions and activities. This will include:
- Working towards the goals set out in our ESG Roadmap to 2030, many of which are aligned with the CSRD, such as pollution, the climate and our workforce;
- Reporting to our majority shareholders, Wendel, as we have recently done for the 2024 financial year;
- Publishing our annual ESG Report, which tracks our progress towards 2030 (you can read Stahl’s 2024 ESG report here).
About our ESG roadmap
The ESG Roadmap to 2030 is an overview of our main sustainability targets and KPIs that improve our environmental footprint and value to stakeholders, as we deliver on our purpose, Touching lives, for a better world.
We exceeded our interim goals for 2023 and have set ambitious new ones for 2026. And since the roadmap already overlaps with many of the topics and disclosure requirements embedded in the CSRD framework, we are already on the path to compliance. We’re doing the right things right now, so that we are ready to be fully compliant with the updated CSRD requirements (whatever they may be) when the time comes.
Want to learn more about CSRD? See our previous blogs: