ESRS 1: General Requirements 2026 – European Sustainability Reporting Standard

Introduction

ESRS 2: General Disclosures 2026 is one of the two cross-cutting standards within the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. It sets disclosure requirements that apply across sustainability topics and supports reporting on material environmental, social and governance impacts, risks and opportunities. It is applied alongside ESRS 1: General Requirements, which sets out the overall principles for identifying material information and preparing the sustainability statement.

The Standard is designed to provide users with information about how sustainability matters are integrated into an organisation’s governance, strategy, business model and management processes. It also establishes consistent disclosure requirements for policies, actions, metrics and targets, helping connect sustainability reporting with the organisation’s decision-making and financial reporting.

Structure

ESRS 2 begins with two Basis for Preparation disclosures. BP-1 addresses how the sustainability statement has been prepared, including whether reporting is consolidated or individual, how the reporting boundary relates to financial reporting and the extent of value-chain coverage. BP-2 addresses the use of phased-in reporting provisions and requires organisations using those provisions to explain the sustainability topics and disclosures affected.

The Standard then covers governance and strategy. Governance disclosures address the responsibilities and expertise of administrative, management and supervisory bodies, sustainability-linked incentive schemes, due diligence and internal controls over sustainability reporting. Strategy disclosures cover the organisation’s business model, value chain, significant products, markets and sectors, stakeholder interests, and the interaction between material sustainability matters and strategy, financial position, performance and cash flows.

A further group of disclosures addresses materiality and management. IRO-1 requires organisations to explain the process used to identify and assess material impacts, risks and opportunities, while IRO-2 covers the resulting material matters and disclosure requirements included in the sustainability statement. ESRS 2 then provides four General Disclosure Requirements covering policies, actions and resources, metrics and targets. Appendix A also identifies datapoints that originate from other EU legislation, including the SFDR, Capital Requirements Regulation, Climate Benchmark Regulation and EU Climate Law.

Applicability

ESRS 2 is intended for undertakings required to prepare sustainability statements under the EU Accounting Directive as amended by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and subsequent EU legislation. The precise organisations within scope are determined by the applicable legislation, while ESRS 1 and ESRS 2 establish how sustainability information is identified, prepared and disclosed.

The Standard applies across material sustainability topics rather than to one specific ESG issue. For example, the same requirements for policies, actions, metrics and targets can support disclosures under climate, pollution, water, biodiversity, workforce, communities, consumers or business conduct standards. Where an organisation uses permitted phase-in provisions, ESRS 2 also requires transparency about which disclosures have been omitted and whether the related sustainability topics have nevertheless been assessed as material.

Status

ESRS 2 was revised as part of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563, adopted by the European Commission on 3 July 2026 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 21 September 2026. The regulation replaces the previous Annex I containing the original ESRS and introduces a simplified sustainability reporting framework with fewer datapoints, clearer materiality rules and stronger distinctions between required and supplementary information.

The Regulation entered into force on 10 November 2026 and applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027. For financial years beginning during 2026, undertakings within scope may use either the previous ESRS version, as last amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1416, or the revised 2026 standards, subject to the transitional provisions and disclosure of the version applied.

Conclusion

ESRS 2: General Disclosures 2026 provides the common disclosure architecture used across the wider ESRS framework. Its role is to ensure that organisations explain not only which sustainability issues are material, but also how those issues interact with governance, strategy, risk management, policies, actions, metrics and targets.

Together, ESRS 1 and ESRS 2 form the foundation of ESRS sustainability reporting. ESRS 1 determines how material sustainability information is identified and prepared, while ESRS 2 establishes the cross-cutting disclosures that explain how the organisation governs and manages those material matters. The topical ESRS then provide more specific requirements for individual environmental, social and governance topics. Access the original full framework here: click here.

Adopted: 3 July 2026

Published in the Official Journal: 21 September 2026

Entry into force: 10 November 2026

Applies from: Financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027

Published by: European Commission

Legal instrument: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563