{"id":30302,"date":"2024-03-19T22:18:45","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T05:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/?page_id=30302"},"modified":"2024-03-20T11:32:07","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T18:32:07","slug":"esrs-european-sustainability-reporting-standards-and-ecological-footprint","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/esrs-european-sustainability-reporting-standards-and-ecological-footprint\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecological Footprint Accounting and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In 2021, the European Commission adopted the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). With its detailed guidance, this legislation marked a major evolution in corporate sustainability reporting and came into force in 2023.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.efrag.org\/\">EFRAG<\/a> or the European Financial Reporting Advisor Group is the organization in charge of developing the reporting framework to which the companies within the scope of CSRD will follow. This reporting framework for the CSRD is known as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).<\/p>\n<p>Fundamentally, the principles by which Global Footprint Network has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/overshoot-impact-of-companies\/\">applied the Ecological Footprint to companies<\/a> is aligned with the basis of ESRS sustainability disclosures (ESRS1 Objective 3.3 Double Materiality as the basis for sustainability disclosures) \u2013 in other words, identifying risks and opportunities from both an impact materiality and a financial materiality perspective.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding the sustainability context we operate in, from the global context to sector and product specific contexts, assessing the risks and opportunities associated with the context of foreseeable climate change and sustainability scenarios has been at the core of how Global Footprint Network has evaluated the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/overshoot-impact-of-companies\/\">overshoot impact of companies<\/a>. While sustainability reporting is broader, Ecological Footprint accounting addresses very specific, observable questions, which as explained here, are also fundamental.<\/p>\n<p>Detailed information on the ESRS found can be found here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.efrag.org\/lab6\">https:\/\/www.efrag.org\/lab6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the December 2023 publication identified as <a href=\"https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/TXT\/?uri=OJ:L_202302772\">Delegated regulation &#8211; EU &#8211; 2023\/2772 &#8211; EN &#8211; EUR-Lex europa.eu<\/a>, ESRS is divided into twelve sections:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ESRS 1:\u00a0General principles<\/li>\n<li>ESRS 2:\u00a0General, strategy, governance, and materiality assessment<\/li>\n<li><strong>ESRS Environmental E1:\u00a0Climate change<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>ESRS Environmental E2:\u00a0Pollution<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>ESRS Environmental E3:\u00a0Water and marine resources<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>ESRS Environmental E4:\u00a0Biodiversity and ecosystems<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>ESRS Environmental E5:\u00a0Resource use and circular economy<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>ESRS Social S1:\u00a0Own workforce<\/li>\n<li>ESRS Social S2:\u00a0Workers in the value chain<\/li>\n<li>ESRS Social S3:\u00a0Affected communities<\/li>\n<li>ESRS Social S4:\u00a0Consumers and end-users<\/li>\n<li>ESRS Governance G1:\u00a0Business conduct<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Narrative alignment <\/strong>&#8211; while a significant effort will be required to understand and prepare the data for reporting, <strong>the majority of reporting \u201cdata points\u201d for the ESRS will be done in narrative format<\/strong>\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.efrag.org\/Assets\/Download?assetUrl=%2Fsites%2Fwebpublishing%2FMeeting%20Documents%2F2311161230175457%2F03-02%20-%20Methodology%20-%20Draft%20List%20of%20ESRS%20Data%20Points%20-%20Implementation%20Guidance%20-%20SRB%20Meeting%20231123.pdf\">Download efrag.org<\/a>), thus, Ecological Footprint, and the context it provides by identifying clear ecological thresholds and resource balances, can serve as a unifying context for such sustainability reporting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Data and metrics alignment<\/strong> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/what-ecological-footprints-measure\/\">Ecological Footprint Accounting<\/a> data requirements overlap with 4 of the 5 Environmental Reporting Categories in the ESRS: Climate Change (E1), Water and Marine Resource(E3), Biodiversity and ecosystems(E4) and Resource use and circular economy(E5), and the indicator or subcomponents can be used in ESRS reporting. Also Ecological Footprint makes a link between E1-E5, something no other metric does as coherently.<\/p>\n<table width=\"672\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"29\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"229\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"203\"><strong>Ecological Footprint is relevant for this ESRS component<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"211\"><strong>Quantitative results for Ecological Footprint or subcomponents can be used in ESRS reporting<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"29\">E1<\/td>\n<td width=\"229\">Climate Change<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"203\">X<\/td>\n<td width=\"211\">Ecological Footprint results are relevant for climate change. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/our-work\/climate-change\/\">here<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"29\">E2<\/td>\n<td width=\"229\">Pollution<\/td>\n<td width=\"203\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"211\">Toxic loads are only indirectly mapped by Ecological Footprint accounts in as far as they compromise biocapacity. Current national accounts do not include them.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"29\">E3<\/td>\n<td width=\"229\">Water and Marine Resources<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"203\">X<\/td>\n<td width=\"211\">Ecological Footprint covers, in principle, freshwater and marine resources. But the current national accounts cover those aspects rather superficially for lack of data.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"29\">E4<\/td>\n<td width=\"229\">Biodiversity and Ecosystems<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"203\">X<\/td>\n<td width=\"211\">Ecological Footprint results are relevant for biodiversity. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/biodiversity\/\">here<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"29\">E5<\/td>\n<td width=\"229\">Resource Use and Circular Economy<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"203\">X<\/td>\n<td width=\"211\">We define &#8216;circular businesses&#8217; as profitable ventures which reduce global overshoot as they expand.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">S<\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">ection E4 <\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">of the ESRS <\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">on Biodiversity and Ecosystems<\/span><\/span><\/span> <span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">requires <\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">policies to be in <\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">alignment with the<\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\"> Post-2020 Global Biodiversity <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">Framework<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">(<\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">GBF). Within the Post-2020 GBF, the Ecological Footprint is identified as <\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">a<\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\"> monitoring indicator under target 16 (<\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbd.int\/gbf\/targets\/16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">https:\/\/www.cbd.int\/gbf\/targets\/16<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">)<\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TrackedChange SCXW175321226 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW175321226 BCX0\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2021, the European Commission adopted the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). With its detailed guidance, this legislation marked a major evolution in corporate sustainability reporting and came into force in 2023. EFRAG or the European Financial Reporting Advisor Group is the organization in charge of developing the reporting framework to which the companies within [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"class_list":["post-30302","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ecological Footprint Accounting and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) - Global Footprint Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ecological Footprint accounts are relevant to and practical for many of the environmental dimensions proposed by the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). 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