Omnibus: SMEs’ sustainability reporting changes – how?

In April 2025, the European Commission decided on changes to corporate sustainability reporting as part of the Omnibus package. The reform will ease sustainability reporting requirements, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

This simplification helps companies meet the expectations of partners and investors: a CSRD report alone includes around 1,200 data points and collecting that data has caused headaches for many.

It’s also important to remember that reporting itself does not equal responsibility. The time and resources spent on reporting should not come at the expense of real action. We can likely all agree that time and effort should be directed toward reducing emissions and implementing measures that support long-term business development.

That said, the importance of science-based emission calculations and requiring them across one’s value chain should remain at the top of the priority list. Although the Omnibus package modifies reporting obligations, the bigger picture remains unchanged.

What doesn’t change:

Emission reduction targets: The climate crisis has not disappeared, nor have national climate goals, the Paris Agreement, or the EU’s sustainability objectives changed. One-third of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the food chain. This means political pressure to reduce emissions—especially in primary production—will continue to grow. The food sector needs to set science-based targets and continuously demonstrate climate actions and their effectiveness.

Value chain sustainability: Even though reporting obligations are being lightened for SMEs, large companies and their primary suppliers will continue to operate under stricter regulations. For example, retail chains will still require sustainability data from their suppliers to support their own calculations.

Investor requirements: Investors continue to favor responsibly produced goods and services. Currently, as many as 89% of financiers consider sustainability when making investment decisions.

Green Claims regulation: The upcoming Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition directive highlights the importance of data accuracy in corporate communications. Sustainability claims and figures must be backed by transparent, verifiable information.

Consumer behavior: Consumers increasingly favor responsible products. While there is still a significant gap between attitudes and behavior, rising environmental awareness is driving slow but steady change in consumption choices.

Business success: High sustainability standards remain essential for continuous growth and long-term success. Research shows that integrating sustainability into business strategy improves competitiveness and reputation for now and in the future.

The changing nature of sustainability work

In the bigger picture, the easing of regulations does not necessarily reduce sustainability work itself, even if reporting requirements for SMEs will change significantly. We predict (and hope) that the reassessment of regulation will transform sustainability work in three key ways:

• Fewer resources spent on reporting: Lighter reporting obligations can free up resources for more impactful sustainability actions.
• Shift from qualitative reporting to quantitative metrics: Quantitative metrics are more comparable and objective.
• Simpler, voluntary reporting models may become standard practice for SMEs.

Climate impact assessments will remain a vital part of sustainability strategy, for example, in Science Based Targets (SBTi) work, environmental claims, and stakeholder reporting.

In the future, sustainability will become even more tightly integrated into business strategy. That being said, companies needs digital tools and systems to scale and mature this work. Those who commit to ambitious climate action and strong collaboration across their supply chains will be the winners.