EFRAG finalises Implementation Guidances

On 31 May 2024, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) published the final Implementation Guidances for the application of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the final list of data points contained in the ESRS.

The drafts of the guidances were already published in December 2023 and made available for public consultation (as reported in Accounting News 51/2023). The documents intended to make it easier for users to implement ESRS for the first time.

The Materiality Assessment Implementation Guidance (EFRAG IG 1) includes explanations and frequently asked questions and their answers in the following areas:

• Explanation of the concept of double materiality,
• Explanation and exemplary presentation of the materiality assessment process and
• Role and involvement of stakeholders in the materiality assessment process.

The Value Chain Implementation Guidance (EFRAG IG 2) deals with the following areas, among others, in the form of explanations and frequently asked questions and their answers:

• Definition of the value chain,
• Relevance of the impacts, risks and opportunities from the upstream and downstream value chain for reporting, and
• Process of data collection in relation to the value chain.

The list of ESRS data points in Excel format (EFRAG IG 3) contains a complete list of data points and Disclosure Requirements and the associated Application Requirements from each standard. EFRAG has published supplementary explanatory notes together with the list.

In its role as technical advisor to the EU Commission, EFRAG can only issue non-binding guidance and cannot develop concepts or requirements that go beyond the content of the ESRS. The published guidelines and the list of ESRS data points are merely intended to illustrate the ESRS and facilitate practical implementation.

The Implementation Guidance and the list of ESRS data points are available on the EFRAG website.