Moderne ESG-rapportering i EU: En akademisk analyse af hvordan danske børsnoteret SMV’er skal foreholde sig til reglerne, om bæredygtighedsrapportering fra EU

Abstract

This Master thesis examines hos listed SMEs in Denmark should react to new regulation from the European commission on sustainability reporting. The new regulation, mainly CSRD and ESRS, are two pieces of legislation that have a profound impact on reporting companies within the union. Previously sustainability reporting have been found to not comply with the demand from investors and external users of company information. Therefore the EU proposed new regulation, with the purpose of creating harmonised sustainability reporting. Danish listed SMEs are largely subject to reporting demands, primarily from 2026 but with a possibility for exemption until 2028. The companies have to report according to CSRD, and apply the double-materiality principle on their sustainability reporting. The economic analysis find that investors are in demand for sustainable information (ESG). But the economic benefits for companies to provide high quality reporting, seems to be lacking or at the very best extremely sensitive to changes. However, companies might also face risk of a changing regulatory landscape. The EU have already proposed change to their sustainability regulation, by introducing the omnibus-package. The goal of omnibus is reduce administrative burdens, and cut the companies in scope for sustainability reporting with about 75-82%. Chapter 5 concludes that changes in accordance with omnibus, can affect the relationship between investors and companies by creating information asymmetry. Leading to insufficient capital allocation. Overall, the thesis finds that Danish listed SMEs, should postpone their reporting to 2028 due to the high uncertainty in the regulatory landscape. Furthermore the thesis finds that sustainability reporting in its current format, does not create value for entities. Particularly for SMEs where the expected cost does not outweigh the potential benefits.