The revised ESRS are coming: what does this mean for digital reporting?

Sustainability reporting in Europe is moving into its next phase.

On 3 July 2026, the European Commission adopted a substantially simplified version of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, along with a new Voluntary Standard for companies outside the mandatory CSRD reporting scope.

The revised framework is shorter, clearer and designed to be easier to apply.

For reporting teams, a key practical question arises: what implications does all this have for XBRL and digital reporting?

We are not ESG advisers, so we will leave questions about double materiality, sustainability strategy and disclosure judgements to the relevant experts. Our focus is the reporting technology: taxonomies, data points, tagging, validation and the production of the final digital report.

Here is what reporting teams need to know.

What has changed?

The most obvious change is the size of the framework.

The revised ESRS reduce mandatory data points by more than 60% and the total number of data points by more than 70%. The standards also provide clearer definitions, more reporting reliefs and a greater emphasis on quantitative information instead of extensive narrative disclosures.

According to the European Commission, these changes could reduce reporting costs by more than 30% per company.

For reporting teams, fewer data points should mean fewer concepts to map, tag, review and validate.

Having clearer definitions and data types could simplify translating the standards into a structured digital reporting model.

Has the new XBRL taxonomy been published?

Not yet.

The revised ESRS are available through the EFRAG ESRS Knowledge Hub, where reporting teams can explore the new standards and compare them with earlier versions.

EFRAG has also published a new draft list of ESRS data points. Released on 28 August 2026, it provides a view of the revised disclosure requirements, including the relevant data types and links to the underlying ESRS paragraphs.

This is useful material for anyone who wants to begin assessing the impact of the changes. It can help teams identify which disclosures remain, which have changed and which data sources may need to be reviewed.

However, it is still a draft supporting document.

EFRAG is open to receiving feedback on possible critical errors until October 23, 2026, and plans to release the final data point resource by year-end.

EFRAG has confirmed that the corresponding draft XBRL taxonomy has been prepared, but it has not yet been released. The taxonomy will be published separately for public consultation, although no firm publication date has been announced.

That means companies can begin analysing the revised reporting model, but they cannot yet complete their taxonomy mappings or configure final tagging and validation processes.

The latest position is available in EFRAG’s August 2026 update.

What should we expect from the new taxonomy?

The final details will only become clear when EFRAG publishes the taxonomy package. Based on the revised standards and draft data point list, however, reporting teams should expect a more focused taxonomy aligned with the reduced disclosure framework.

What about the Voluntary Standard?

The European Commission has also adopted a new Voluntary Standard for companies that fall outside mandatory CSRD reporting.

A digital template and XBRL taxonomy already exist for the earlier VSME standard developed by EFRAG. The VSME formed the basis of the Commission’s new Voluntary Standard and can continue to support experimentation and voluntary reporting.

However, the current VSME taxonomy should not be assumed to be the definitive taxonomy for the new standard adopted by the Commission.

EFRAG is currently updating the related guidance and supporting materials. We therefore expect further clarification on whether the existing taxonomy will be updated, replaced or extended to reflect the final Voluntary Standard.

For companies planning voluntary digital reporting, the existing VSME resources are a useful starting point. They should simply be used with the understanding that another taxonomy update may be coming.

When will the revised ESRS apply?

The revised ESRS are intended to be available for optional early application for financial years beginning in 2026. They will become mandatory for companies within the revised CSRD scope for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027.

Before that can happen, the revised ESRS and Voluntary Standard must complete scrutiny by the European Parliament and Council and be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

There is also a separate timetable for digital tagging.

Publication of an EFRAG XBRL taxonomy does not, by itself, make tagging mandatory. The taxonomy must first be incorporated into the European Single Electronic Format rules through the relevant EU legal process.

According to the revised CSRD, companies won’t need to digitally format their sustainability reports until the electronic reporting guidelines have been adopted.

In practice, we expect the process to move through three stages:

1. 1. EFRAG publishes the draft XBRL taxonomy for consultation.
   2. The technical taxonomy is reviewed and finalised.
   3. The taxonomy is incorporated into the formal EU digital reporting requirements.

We know the direction of travel, but we do not yet have confirmed dates for all three stages.

Who will be affected?

Under the revised CSRD scope, mandatory sustainability reporting will generally apply to EU undertakings and groups that exceed both:

• • 1,000 average employees
  • €450 million in net annual turnover

For parent undertakings, these thresholds are assessed on a consolidated basis. Separate rules apply to qualifying non-EU groups with significant activity in the EU.

Companies outside the mandatory scope may choose to use the Voluntary Standard. It will also help define the sustainability information that larger companies can request from smaller businesses in their value chains.

How Report Authority will support the transition

Companies do not need to wait for the new taxonomy before they can start using Report Authority.

Report Authority can already be used to prepare the sustainability report itself. Its report-production functionality allows teams to write, assemble and manage the report in one place.

The Outline panel offers a clear look at its structure, allowing you to easily distinguish various sections and navigate through a potentially lengthy and detailed document.

This means Report Authority can support the production of the human-readable sustainability report now, before digital tagging becomes mandatory.

Once the revised ESRS taxonomy is published, Report Authority will support it. The tagging and validation requirements can then be handled within the same reporting process, without moving the report into a separate system or expecting reporting teams to become XBRL specialists.

If the first publication is a consultation taxonomy, we will follow the subsequent changes and update our support as the framework moves towards its final, legally adopted form.

We will also continue to monitor developments around the Voluntary Standard, the final data point list and the incorporation of ESRS tagging into the European Single Electronic Format.

What are the key takeaways?

The revised ESRS should make sustainability reporting more manageable. There will be fewer data points, clearer requirements and a more focused reporting framework.

The digital model is not quite ready, however.

The revised standards and draft data point list are available, but the new XBRL taxonomy is still to be published. Mandatory digital tagging will come later, after the taxonomy has been incorporated into the relevant EU rules.

In the meantime, Report Authority can already be used to structure, write and produce the sustainability report. When the new taxonomy arrives, we will support that too.

The aim is simple: the technical complexity of XBRL should be handled by the software, not passed on to the reporting team.