The European Commission announced today the launch of a consultation on a newly released draft standard for limited assurance of sustainability reporting, aimed at establishing common standards for assurance engagements under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and supporting consistency and comparability across the sustainability reporting framework.

Companies disclosing under the CSRD are required to obtain assurance through an independent external reviewer for their reported sustainability information. Under the EU’s Omnibus I simplification initiative, however, the option to shift from the regulation’s current limited assurance requirement to the more stringent reasonable assurance standard in the future was removed.

The Commission said that it asked the Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies (CEAOB) for technical advice to prepare the new draft standards, which in turn used the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000 (ISSA 5000) as its basis, with adaptations added to reflect the EU’s legal framework. ISSA 5000 was released in 2024 by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), and designed for use across multiple sustainability reporting standards and frameworks, including those issued by the EU, ISSB, GRI, ISO and others.

Key changes from ISSA 5000 in the draft standards, aside from carve-outs related to the IAASB’s provisions for reasonable assurance, include requirements to treat the EU Taxonomy as applicable criteria for sustainability reporting, including procedures for assessing Taxonomy eligibility and alignment, in addition to rules and procedures for digital reporting requirements and the use of third-party verification reports.

In its consultation draft, the Commission said that it is seeking feedback on issues ranging from the scope of assurance engagements to the treatment of the ESRS and EU Taxonomy requirements as the applicable assurance criteria, and the timeline for the standard to become mandatory, with options presented including 2027, 2028, or a later date.

The Commission said that it is seeking feedback from stakeholders including companies preparing sustainability reports, auditors, independent assurance providers, investors and other users of assurance, standard‑setters, oversight bodies, and civil society organizations.

The consultation will be open through January 18, 2027. Click here to access the consultation.