First CSRD Reports: Key Trends and Insights

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is a new, mandatory sustainability reporting framework introduced by the European Commission (EC) on 1 January 2025 as part of the European Green Deal.

Designed to improve the transparency and reliability of sustainability information, the CSRD enables investors, regulators and other stakeholders to more effectively assess sustainability-related risks, opportunities and impacts.

The directive significantly expands previous EU reporting rules—both in the number of organisations required to report and in the depth, consistency and comparability of the disclosures. CSRD sets a higher bar for data quality, double materiality assessments and detailed reporting across environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics.

In our efforts to distil and simplify sustainability reporting, KEY ESG has collated a library of over 300 CSRD reports published by the first wave of eligible companies. Together with our partners Proskauer, a leading global law firm, we have drawn some initial insights on how the first companies have reported on CSRD. Proskauer frequently advises global organizations on CSRD requirements, including how they can operationalize the findings from double materiality assessments to derive business value.

Key Takeaways From the First CSRD Reports

1. Length of the reports and the number of standards reported on
2. The number of Impacts, Risks and Opportunities (IROs) outlined, and how those IROs are addressed in the reports
3. Whether or not companies utilized the phase-in allowance for certain reporting standards
4. Whether there were any entity-specific topics reported on, and if so, which ones

For businesses taking the first step towards CSRD compliance, please contact one of our experts for more detailed insights on best practice, or request a demo of our software to see how our intuitive UI makes ESG reporting accessible for the non-ESG expert.