The European Union published its first Omnibus package on February 26, 2025, for CBAM report filing. Amongst the numerous climate regulations it addressed, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) were in the spotlight. The Omnibus package is the European Union’s first set of regulatory changes to sustainability reporting since the introduction of the European Green Deal. It streamlines and simplifies reporting requirements, ensuring greater clarity and efficiency in compliance. These modifications aim to enhance the effectiveness of sustainability disclosures while reducing administrative burdens for businesses. The primary objective of the package is to simplify the EU’s existing regulations for climate so as to boost competitiveness in the context of the climate economy.
With the introduction of the Omnibus package, global trade will witness changes and to some extent relief when it comes to CBAM report filing and CSRD reporting. For example, it will certainly disrupt the supply chain, but not act as a hindrance to trade flows that could have been the case under the first original version of CBAM. The current shape of the Omnibus package will simplify and harmonise sustainability reporting requirements. For instance, the administrative costs for exporters and importers will come down.
Announced changes to CBAM report filing under Omnibus package
Some drastic changes have been introduced for EU declarants under the CBAM that will shape global trade patterns. These changes will act as a relief for around 1,82,000 SMEs in the Commission. However, even after the changes in the CBAM rules, it covers over 99 per cent of the total emissions. Focusing on simplifying CBAM, for suppliers across the world and for around 90 per cent of EU declarants, the EU announced some specific changes for the transitional phase. Here is a look at the specific changes for importers under the CBAM:
1.New CBAM report threshold announced
The European Union Commission has announced a fresh de minimis threshold for CBAM reporting by EU importers. As per the Omnibus Package published by the EU, any importer importing less than a 50-tonne mass of any CBAM-listed products per year or 100 tonnes of CO₂ annually is exempt from compliance. This will come as direct relief for 90% of importers who are part of SMEs in the Commission.
2.CBAM certification deferred
The Commission has postponed the purchase and surrender of CBAM certificates for different products from 2026 to January 2027. This indicates some relief for the declarants who were earlier mandated to buy the CBAM certificates from the beginning of the definitive regime in January 2026.
3.Simplifying the calculation methods
The EU has also said it would streamline the declarant authorisation, calculation of emissions, and the management of CBAM’s financial liability.
4.Preventing CBAM compliance evasion tactics
The new changes will also focus on measures to strengthen and secure CBAM reporting integrity. For instance, the EU national authorities will develop measures to prevent tactics used by suppliers and importers to evade CBAM compliance through circumvention.
5.Simplification to facilitate inclusion of more ETS sectors under CBAM
One of the aims of the CBAM updates is to facilitate the inclusion of other ETS sectors under the CBAM. Moreover, the postponement of CBAM only means some delay in the financial burden as it is slowly going to roll out to all products under the EU ETS.
The current changes are only meant to make CBAM reporting easier, but also simpler and hassle-free for suppliers and importers. The Commission has stated that in no way does it mean any delay in the CBAM implementation, which is already under the Transitional Phase. In addition to these, deferred payment for certificates does not eliminate the financial burden of a carbon tax on the importers and suppliers; it only postpones the cost proportional to embedded emissions in the CBAM products.
Announced changes to CSRD under Omnibus package
Under the new rules related to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the scope of compliance will be eliminated for around 80 per cent of companies. Here is a look at some specific changes in CSRD reporting rules:
1.Scope of companies reduced
After the latest changes in the CSRD, reporting rules apply to only large companies with more than 1000 employees. In addition to this, the company with either a turnover above EUR 50 million or a total balance sheet of more than EUR 25 million will be mandated to CSRD reporting.
2.Voluntary reporting option for companies outside CSRD scope
Companies that do not fall under the CSRD reporting scope and have 1,000 employees may choose to go for voluntary reporting. This should be done on the basis of a simplified voluntary standard to be adopted by the Commission.
3.CSRD compliance postponement
The European Union Commission has postponed the reporting requirements for companies from 2026 and 2027 to the end of 2028. This is applicable for companies that were earlier eligible for CSRD reporting. This postponement of CRSD reporting requirement has been pushed by two years for its application.
4.Removal of reasonable assurance standard
The latest changes have removed the reasonable assurance standard. The commission has proposed to make a shift from the limited assurance requirement to a reasonable assurance requirement.
5.No sector-specific standards requirement
The new rules remove the sector-specific standard requirement.
6.Revision of ESRS
The European Union Commission also announced to revise all the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). It will revise the delegated act to establish the new ESRS to bring down the number of data points.
How The Sustainability Cloud helps you traverse the new changes in CBAM and CSRD compliance?
Amid the rapidly changing climate policy landscape across the world, international trade dynamics are shifting either in favour of companies with a tangible climate action track record or to countries where climate policies are less strict.
The Sustainability Cloud’s dynamic product development ensures its CBAM tool has the ability to integrate all the changing reporting requirements in a timely manner to ensure companies don’t suffer due to compliance failures. The platform also ensures a seamless EU CSRD reporting without much hassle. It helps in data collection from all the points to generate an accurate CSRD report for companies under its reporting scope.
