The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has urged European policymakers to further align the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) with international reporting frameworks, arguing that greater consistency would reduce compliance burdens for businesses. While welcoming the EU’s decision to retain the principle of double materiality, GRI stressed that simplification efforts should not come at the expense of transparency and decision-useful sustainability disclosures.
GRI also warned that proposed exemptions and restrictions, particularly around asset managers and value-chain data sharing, could weaken the quality of sustainability information available to investors and stakeholders. The organization said stronger interoperability between global standards and ESRS would lower reporting costs, improve comparability, and help European companies remain competitive in an increasingly complex global reporting landscape.