Simplification of Environmental Reporting: Latest Developments

The European Commission has made simplification, reducing the reporting burden and simplifying legislation its top priorities for the next five years. The overall objective is to reduce the administrative burden by 25% by the end of its mandate and by at least 35% for SMEs. The plan is set out in the Political Guidelines 2024-2029.  

With the publication of a package of proposals, the so-called 'Omnibus' package on  February 26, 2025, the European Commission has now specified these plans for the first time. The 'Omnibus' proposal provides for far-reaching simplification in a number of legislative fields, covering sustainable finance reporting, sustainability due diligence, EU Taxonomy, carbon border adjustment mechanism, and European investment programs. The proposed adjustments are intended to reduce the burden on SMEs and small mid-caps (SMCs) in particular and focus policy requirements on the largest companies. 

A webinar, which took place on February 13, 2025, provided an overview of environmental reporting requirements and possible other future simplifications. 

Webinar on potential for simplification in the environmental legislation 

On February 13, 2024, a webinar organized by Trinomics on behalf of the Directorate-General for Environment (DG-ENV) presented the findings of an assessment of environmental reporting requirements and potential simplifications, covering also an analysis of EMAS reporting obligations. Nearly 300 participants, primarily from businesses or business associations, attended this four-hour workshop, which was divided into three sessions. 

The first session focussed on the study's objectives and scope, explaining reporting obligations and administrative duties, noting that distinctions can sometimes be unclear. They described the necessary data collection using the standard cost model in preparation for upcoming surveys. 

The second session focused on the benefits of reporting and the three principles of good reporting. Guest speakers Sofia Martinez from the Green Economy Coalition and Katja Hummer from the Austrian Ministry for Climate, Environment and Energy highlighted the importance of reliable environmental data for evidence-based policymaking, stressing the need to balance data requirements with reporting burdens. 
 

The third session addressed burden reduction and efficient reporting. Speakers Nick Dornheim from EuroCommerce and Raphaëlle Hennekinne from Digital Europe emphasised the importance of consistent reporting across legislations and countries, advocating for harmonised formats and digital solutions. They also discussed the concept of "one-stop shops" for reporting. 

Participants actively engaged through discussions and chat, highlighting key concerns such as unclear instructions, redundant data reporting, and the impact of EUDR requirements on small farmers. The importance of digitalising and automating business reporting was underscored, with calls for collaboration with other DGs to advance these efforts. Additionally, there were discussions about simplifying new plans, such as transformation and transition plans, by identifying and merging overlaps. 

The webinar took place as part of the project “Environmental Reporting and Simplification”, which is being carried out from June 2024 to October 2025 by Trinomics in cooperation with WSP and Ricardo on behalf of DG-ENV. The project team is currently collecting concrete information on business and member state reporting costs and other administrative burdens as well as ideas for improving the efficiency of reporting through a survey, which will inform the overall study.