On 15 July 2025, the European Commission adopted the “Quick Fix” ESRS Delegated Act to ease CSRD reporting for Wave 1 companies. It allows firms to exclude ESRS E4, S2, S3, and S4 from reports for 2025 and 2026 and extends phase-in provisions to companies with over 750 employees. The aim is to ensure fair treatment after these firms were left out of the earlier “Stop-the-Clock” Directive. The delegated act will now undergo scrutiny by the European Parliament and Council.
On 15 July 2025, the European Commission adopted the “Quick Fix” ESRS Delegated Act to ease reporting requirements for the first wave of companies under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The key change: all CSRD Wave 1 companies are allowed to exclude ESRS E4 (Biodiversity), S2 (Workers in the Value Chain), S3 (Affected Communities), and S4 (Consumers and End-Users) from their sustainability reporting for financial years 2025 and 2026.
In addition, large Wave 1 companies with more than 750 employees will benefit from the same phase-in provisions currently applicable to firms with up to 750 employees. These measures aim to reduce the reporting burden during the initial implementation phase of CSRD.
The Commission explained that this “Quick Fix” was necessary because Wave 1 companies were not covered by the earlier “Stop-the-Clock” Directive included in the Omnibus package. Without this adjustment, these companies would have faced higher compliance obligations than later waves, creating an uneven playing field.
The changes do not alter the core principles of ESRS or CSRD but provide temporary flexibility for smoother adoption of sustainability reporting. The delegated act will now go through the usual scrutiny process by the European Parliament and Council.
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