CSRDCorporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive — the EU legislative framework for sustainability reporting by entities within its scope, using ESRS.
Editorial definition: The QHSE Standard, updated 3 October 2026 · https://qhsetech.com/glossary/csrd
Scope: Confirm the applicable legal text, financial year and national implementation; historic company counts and wave labels are not an eligibility test.
Example for your evaluation: Record the entity, reporting period and applicability decision before selecting software disclosures.
Sources checked: . Examples are editorial illustrations.
What the CSRD requires
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of 14 December 2022, published in the Official Journal (OJ L 322) on 16 December 2022. It amends the Accounting Directive (2013/34/EU) together with the audit and transparency rules. Undertakings in scope include in their management report the information needed to understand their impacts on sustainability matters and the information needed to understand how sustainability matters affect their development, performance and position. Those two perspectives are what "double materiality" refers to. The information goes in a clearly identifiable, dedicated section of the management report.
Companies in scope report according to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The Commission adopted the first set on 31 July 2023. On 3 July 2026 it adopted two delegated acts: one simplifying certain standards by amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772, and one establishing standards for voluntary use by undertakings protected by the value-chain cap. The directive also requires publication in a single electronic reporting format (Article 29d) and an assurance opinion, starting from a limited assurance engagement.
Scope has changed since 2022. The "stop-the-clock" Directive (EU) 2025/794 of 14 April 2025 postponed reporting for companies that were due to start with financial years 2025 or 2026, and a political agreement on the Omnibus I simplification package followed on 9 December 2025. That package was enacted as Directive (EU) 2026/470 of 24 February 2026, in force since 18 March 2026, with transposition of its reporting provisions due by 19 March 2027. EUR-Lex shows a consolidated version of the directive dated 18 March 2026; check that text, and national transposition, for the thresholds that apply.
What a CSRD record holds in software
- An applicability record per entity and financial year: the legal text version relied on, the decision, who made it and when.
- A double materiality assessment: each impact, risk and opportunity with its impact and financial assessment, the thresholds used, the stakeholder input considered and the rationale for topics left out.
- A datapoint register mapping each reported item to its ESRS disclosure requirement, with owner, source system, method and whether the figure is measured or estimated.
- Value-chain data requests to suppliers and customers, with responses and follow-up.
- An evidence and approval trail an assurance provider can sample, and an output that can be prepared in the required electronic format.
CSRD and ESRS
The CSRD is the law: it sets who reports, where the information goes, the digital format and the assurance requirement. The ESRS are the standards, adopted as delegated acts, that set what is disclosed and how. A product that "supports CSRD" should say which ESRS set it maps to, because the Commission adopted amendments to the 2023 set in July 2026. The voluntary standard for SMEs (VSME), the subject of a Commission recommendation on 30 July 2025, is a third thing: voluntary, not a CSRD obligation.
Catalog profiles documenting CSRD, ESRS or materiality workflows
Module, reporting-standard version and licensing boundaries remain in each linked profile. A matching capability is not a complete CSRD compliance assessment.
Same rule for every product: tagged “ESG Reporting”, “ESG Frameworks Reporting”, “Sustainability Reporting”, “Materiality Assessment”, “ESG & Sustainability” or “Sustainability & ESG”, with a sourced CSRD, ESRS or materiality capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. Documented and conditional capabilities qualify; check the linked scope before treating a module as included.
Tekmon pays for a sponsored placement (above); its place in this list follows the same rule as every entry. How lists are ordered
Dunya Analytics · ESRS E4, GRI, CDP and SBTN aligned reports · Conditional
Vendor source · Profile checked
osapiens HUB · Reporting and disclosure preparation · Conditional
Vendor source · Profile checked
Datamaran · Materiality thresholds and borderline review · Documented
Vendor source · Profile checked
NatureMetrics · TNFD, ESRS E4 and GRI reporting support · Conditional
Vendor source · Profile checked
Normative · ESG disclosure collection · Conditional
Vendor source · Profile checked
Novisto · Double-materiality assessment · Conditional
Vendor source · Profile checked
Persefoni · Disclosure review record · Documented
Vendor source · Profile checked
Plan A · CSRD Manager · Conditional
Vendor source · Profile checked
Position Green · Double materiality assessment · Documented
Vendor source · Profile checked
Sweep · Multi-framework sustainability reporting · Documented
Vendor source · Profile checked
XNatura · ESRS E4, TNFD and GRI disclosure packs · Conditional
Vendor source · Profile checked
Tekmon · Stakeholder materiality questionnaires and matrix · Documented
Vendor source · Profile checked
Enablon · ESG data, reporting and double materiality · Conditional
Vendor source · Profile checked
VelocityEHS · GHG and materiality · Documented
Vendor source · Profile checked
All 14 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.
Related software
Frequently asked questions
Who must report?
Check the entity against the applicable amended legislation and national implementation for the relevant financial year. Older threshold summaries are not sufficient.
What does double materiality mean?
Consider impacts on people and the environment as well as sustainability-related financial effects. A matter can be material from either perspective.
What should I ask a software supplier?
Ask which adopted ESRS version the product supports and how it records applicability decisions, evidence, approvals and changes.
More esg terms
Related guides
- Double Materiality Software: Datamaran, osapiens, Position Green
Software guide on double materiality.
- How to Evaluate ESG & Sustainability Software
Evaluation brief on evaluating ESG and sustainability software.
- ESRS Disclosures 2026: A Practical Implementation Guide
Article on ESRS disclosures.
- ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) — definition, software & FAQs
Definition of ESG.
- Double Materiality — definition, software & FAQs
Definition of double materiality.