On December 16, 2022, the European Council (EC) published the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in its Official Journal. The CSRD aims to enhance the transparency and quality of sustainability reporting. A significant piece of legislation with ambitious goals and tight timelines for implementation, the CSRD is a central component of the European Union's Green Deal.
The first companies affected by the CSRD must apply the new rules for the first time in the 2024 financial year for reports published in 2025.
The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), appointed by the European Commission (EC), developed the digital XBRL taxonomy for the initial European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The EC approved these standards on July 31, 2023, and they were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on December 22, 2023. This marks a significant step towards implementing structured and standardised sustainability reporting across Europe.
The ESRS Set 1 Draft XBRL Taxonomy is a framework that facilitates mandatory machine-readable reporting by companies. It offers XBRL components or 'tags' for each data point and dimensional breakdown specified in the ESRS disclosure requirements, thereby permitting the digital tagging of ESRS statements. The European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA) will employ the ultimate version of this taxonomy to generate Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) to tag the ESRS sustainability statement.
Embracing the ESRS Set 1 Draft XBRL Taxonomy marks a pivotal step towards navigating the future of sustainability reporting. As we stand on the threshold of mandatory machine-readable reporting, this framework offers a pathway to compliance and a beacon guiding companies towards enhanced transparency and accountability.
Is your company in the scope of the CSRD? If so, you will soon have to report according to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) using the ESRS taxonomy. To successfully submit their filings, companies must ensure that their submissions comply with validation rules, which enhance data comparability and usability.
At Visma Connect, we recognise the significance of structured and standardised reporting in driving sustainable business practices. Through our commitment to innovation and compliance, we aim to empower organisations to adopt the ESRS taxonomy seamlessly, facilitating a transformative journey towards sustainable success. For this reason, we’re offering businesses the opportunity to try out our validation tool, XBRLValidPro, which lets you know if your files comply with ESRS specifications. If you are working on your ESRS reporting but are unsure you’re tagging it right, we can help you find out.
Feel free to contact our technical team if you need any assistance or have specific queries or feedback on the validation process.
Fully compliant and XBRL-certified in all modules, XBRLValidPro has been thoroughly tested against thousands of conformance suite tests accompanying XBRL specifications. With XBRLValidPro, you can trust that your reports will always contain verified, high-quality data.