Every reporting season brings the same question: what exactly do we owe, and to whom? In 2026, the answer shifted again after the Omnibus changes, and platforms such as Covere2 show how teams can keep moving without waiting for perfect clarity. The rules may be lighter in places, yet expectations around evidence have not softened at all.
Why Omnibus Does Not Mean Less Work
Lawmakers adjusted who reports and when, but the logic behind CSRD stays intact: transparent, comparable, and verifiable sustainability information. Customers, lenders and partners still ask for numbers. Companies that adapted their internal processes to CSRD early, such as ELEKS in Estonia, report that expert guidance helped them restructure the reporting workflow and keep the whole process transparent.
That is why data quality has become the central theme of 2026. The Covere2 approach is built on this idea: high-quality, verified primary data instead of assumptions or averages. A shorter disclosure only works when every line behind it can be defended, and full transparency of the methodologies is what makes that possible.
Where Companies Usually Get Stuck
Most delays have little to do with regulation itself. They come from practical gaps inside the organisation:
- No clear starting point for assessments and gap analysis.
- Scattered data that nobody has identified, collected or checked.
- Unclear choice of a reporting platform.
- Weak links between internal processes and auditing or disclosure.
- Vague environmental messaging that invites legal and reputational risk.
The last point deserves attention. From 27 September 2026, the ECGT Directive (EU) 2024/825 changes how businesses may describe the environmental qualities of their products. Generic claims are no longer a safe default, since the directive amends both the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the Consumer Rights Directive, and a recent French court ruling against Volvic for deceptive commercial practices shows that scrutiny is real.
Double Materiality as a Working Tool
Double materiality is often treated as paperwork, yet it is the step that decides what the whole report contains. It looks at the impact a company has on the environment and society, and at the financial risks and opportunities flowing back to the business. Participants in the Covere2 workshop “Measure What Matters: Mastering Double Materiality” describe a clearer path from the assessment to impacts, risks, opportunities, and stakeholder engagement. One client, Viikki Research Farm in Finland, used the assessment to evaluate both environmental and social effects of its operations alongside financial exposure. Another example comes from Juntos Farm in Spain, where accurate measurement of energy consumption guided the decision to invest in solar power and later made the positive effect of that investment easy to demonstrate.
A Sensible Path For 2026/2027
A practical sequence looks like this:
- Assess where you stand and close the gaps against current standards.
- Identify and collect the data that matters, with documented methods.
- Select the platform that fits your processes.
- Prepare the report, then audit and disclose it.
- Turn results into decisions that cut footprint and risk.
Covere2 covers each of these stages, from assessments through disclosure, and backs its methods with a Scientific Advisory Board of academics from Helsinki, Reading, Belfast and beyond. The aim is not a document for its own sake: reporting only matters when it drives change.
Other regulation points the same way. The new EU framework for carbon removals and carbon farming, CRCF Regulation (EU) 2024/3012, aims to make the voluntary carbon credits market more credible, while packaging rules were a central topic at a recent industry conference in Budapest attended by Covere2. Public procurement is another signal: with roughly 15% of EU GDP at stake, buyers increasingly expect suppliers to show a credible sustainability profile, and for firms selling to the public sector, Green Public Procurement is moving from a competitive advantage to a baseline expectation.
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
