EFRAG Sector Specific ESRS
Areas of interest in this section:
Introduction:
As part of its mandate granted by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (‘CSRD’) to provide technical advice to the European Commission (‘EC’) on European Sustainability Reporting Standards (‘ESRS’), EFRAG is tasked to develop a set of sector-agnostic draft ESRS. This will be multi-year exercise.
In particular, EFRAG’s mandate also includes the development of “information that undertakings should disclose depending on their sector of activity” (Recital 53 CSRD). For this reason, in September 2022, EFRAG started the development of the first set of Exposure Drafts, including SEC1 Sector Classification and 4 sector standards:
- Mining, Quarrying and Coal mining,
- Oil and Gas,
- Road Transportation, and
- Agriculture, Farming and Fisheries.
In March 2023, the EC asked EFRAG to prioritise work related to the implementation of the sector-agnostic ESRSs. As a consequence, EFRAG has reviewed and adjusted the process of consultation of its on-going sector work.
On this page, interested stakeholders can find more information on:
- the development process of sector-specific standards,
- the standards that have been developed,
- the standards in development and
- planned activities on sector developments.
Sector-specific standard development process:
The development process includes two main stages (Exposure Draft Stage and Final Draft Stage), each one having specific phases detailed below.
The sector standard development process consists of an Exposure Draft stage with four initial phases:
1.Research: laying the foundations of the drafting phase by identifying and prioritising the key sustainability matters and identifying current disclosure practices;
2.Drafting: writing the Working Paper based on the information collected, as well as input from EFRAG’s sector community. Public technical discussions of the EFRAG SR TEG (advisor to the EFRAG SRB ) and EFRAG SRB (decision maker) set the directions for the drafting, but drafting sessions can also take place, mainly at the SR TEG level;
3.Validation: validating the work done through public discussions on draft standards at EFRAG SR TEG and EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board (‘EFRAG SRB’) meetings.
4.Approval of the draft standards for public consultation (Exposure Draft) by the EFRAG SR TEG (recommendation to the SRB) and by the EFRAG SRB (final approval).
After the approval of the Exposure Draft, the final draft stage is initiated consisting of 5 phases:
1.Public consultation: the initial draft is subject to public consultation following EFRAG due process procedures;
2.Analysis: The EFRAG Secretariat analyses the feedback from the public consultation and summarises the main points in its feedback statement;
3.Redeliberation: the main points coming out from the public consultation are re-discussed by EFRAG SR TEG and EFRAG SRB, and final draft standards are produced;
4.Approval of the final draft standards by the EFRAG SR TEG (recommendation to the SRB) and by the EFRAG SRB (final approval);
5.Finalisation: final editing of draft standards before publication by EFRAG as technical advice to the European Commission.
The time estimated to complete an entire development cycle for one standard may be up to 24 months. The decision on which standards to develop is in the remit of the EFRAG SRB and is informed by a prioritisation process, such as focusing on high-impact sectors and on the role of financial institutions in facilitating the objectives of the European Green Deal, developed by the EFRAG Secretariat, which is later on discussed, modified and approved by EFRAG SR TEG and ultimately SRB.
EFRAG standard setting process is conducted following the EFRAG due process procedures, including public consultation and technical discussions in public at EFRAG SR TEG and SRB.
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Sector Specific draft Standards:
Currently, EFRAG’s priority is on the implementation work on the sector-agnostic ESRS. Nonetheless, EFRAG will continue the developments on sector-specific standards. The calendar for standards, as well as an indication of the phase they are currently on, is shown below.
Sector | Current phase | Next step | Expected start of next phase |
Oil and Gas | Early Draft - Approval | SRB discussion (TBD*) | Not scheduled |
Coal, Quarries and Mining | Early Draft - Approval | SRB discussion (TBD*) | Not scheduled |
Road Transport | Early Draft - Validating | Not scheduled | Not scheduled |
Agriculture, Farming and Fisheries | Early Draft - Drafting | Not scheduled | Not scheduled |
Motor Vehicles | Early Draft - Research | Not scheduled | Not scheduled |
Energy Production and Utilities | Early Draft - Research | Not scheduled | Not scheduled |
Food and Beverages | Early Draft - Research | Not scheduled | Not scheduled |
Textiles, Accessories, Footwear and Jewellery | Early Draft - Research | Not scheduled | Not scheduled |
* TBD- Date to be determined
Any decisions taken to start new sector work will be published on this page.
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Community Sector Groups:
The Community Sector Groups are constituted by stakeholders interested in the development of ESRS for any given sector. These stakeholders consist of preparers and preparer organisations, civil society members, social partners, investment partners or any other organisations with a particular interest in a specific sector. Community members support the identification of relevant and important sustainability matters for each sector, provide input to the development of draft standards, participate actively in workshops and have further contact, where useful, with EFRAG’s Sector specific draft ESRS writing team. They are also expected to contribute to the public consultation and other outreaches, surveys, field test or impact studies organized on the Exposure Drafts.
The EFRAG Secretariat organises dedicated workshops to the sector community members for each sector standard being developed. The objective of the workshops is to inform the sector community members and obtain their feedback on concrete questions. Workshops may address aspects such as:
- Process, planning and expectations;
- Identification of suitable sources of reporting practices, standards, public and private initiatives, etc.;
- Presenting and discussing research on relevant sustainability matters and applicable legislation;
- Prioritisation of sustainability matters;
- Discussion of disclosure requirements for inclusion in the sector specific draft standards;
- Other matters, for example, discussion on a particular drafting question.
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How to become a Sector Community member?
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How to subscribe to a workshop?
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Workshop calendar
More information will follow.
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Do you have questions on our sector work?
