The first reports under the EU sustainability directive
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive appears on 9 recent papers and double materiality on 3, while sustainability reporting as a whole appears on 57. The first reports under the directive were published in 2025, and the rules were then scaled back. What did the first wave disclose, and what did the rollback remove?
What prompted this
Since October 2025, 12 papers carry a CSRD, European Sustainability Reporting Standards or double-materiality keyword (4 in finance journals, 4 in management, 3 in economics, 1 in accounting): "Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive" on 9 and "double materiality" on 3. "Sustainability reporting" appears on 57 papers.
Questions
- In the first reports, which topics did firms declare material, and does the double-materiality assessment differ across countries and auditors?
- Did firms that reported for the first time change their emissions targets or capital spending, or only their disclosure?
- After the 2025 simplification removed most mid-sized firms from the scope, did those firms stop reporting, or keep reporting voluntarily because their customers ask?
Data that could help
The first-wave reports (machine-readable from 2025), materiality assessments, firms' earlier voluntary reports, and the scope changes by firm size.
Next step
Code the material topics declared by 300 first-wave reporters and compare them across countries and sectors.