The European Commission has adopted revised European sustainability reporting standards (ESRS) and a voluntary reporting standard for smaller companies.  

ESRS cover environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, including climate change, biodiversity and human rights. They provide information for investors and other stakeholders to understand sustainability-related risks companies are exposed to and their impacts on people and the environment. 

The decision to water down the original all-encompassing sustainability standards comes after months of debate and committee hearings as EU member states pushed back against the additional bureaucracy.