Comprehensive Guide to 2026 Regulations: CSRD, CSDDD, SFDR, CBAM and the EU Taxonomy in Business Strategy

The year 2026 marks a new stage in EU regulations. It is the moment when CSRD, CSDDD, CBAM, SFDR, and the EU Taxonomy cease to be analyzed as a set of separate obligations and begin to operate as a coherent system directly influencing the business models of companies in the European Union.

Four legal acts – the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, and the EU Taxonomy Regulation – create a unified regulatory architecture covering corporate sustainability reporting, due diligence obligations across the entire value chain, and transparency of financial information on the capital market.

In practice, this means a permanent link between non-financial data and accounting, strategy, and access to financing. ESG becomes an element of corporate governance and management responsibility – not an add-on to the annual report, but an integral part of risk management and enterprise value creation.

Why is the European Union introducing new environmental regulations and what is their main objective?

The new obligations arise directly from the implementation of the European Green Deal strategy. Their main objectives are:

• achieving climate neutrality,

• mitigating the effects of climate change,

• increasing transparency of non-financial data,

• protecting human rights and labor rights,

• redirecting capital toward activities aligned with environmental objectives.

The European Commission clearly states that financial stability in the European Union depends on companies’ resilience to climate and social risks. Therefore, the Directive of the European Parliament on corporate reporting and the Directive on corporate due diligence form part of a single regulatory architecture.

The regulations are primarily intended to protect the market against systemic risk.

What is the CSRD directive and what new obligations does it introduce?

The CSRD, concerning corporate sustainability reporting, fundamentally changes the way companies report.

What does the CSRD mean in practice?

• extension of reporting obligations to large entities and listed companies,

• introduction of uniform standards – European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS),

• mandatory audit of non-financial data,

• digital tagging of the report.

Corporate sustainability reporting covers the impact of a company’s activities on the environment, society, and corporate governance, as well as the impact of these factors on financial performance.

The principle of double materiality requires analysis from two perspectives:

• the impact of environmental, social, and governance factors on the company,

• the company’s impact on those factors.

Who is subject to reporting obligations?

Scope: EU companies (>1,000 employees and >€450 million net turnover); non-EU companies (>€200 million net turnover through at least one subsidiary and >€450 million net turnover in the EU).

Application: From financial year 2024 (Wave 1); revised CSRD from financial year 2027 (EU) and 2028 (non-EU).

Member States are implementing the directive into national law – in Poland, this process requires amendments to the Accounting Act. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for drafting implementing regulations.

What role does the EU Taxonomy play and what are taxonomy disclosures?

The EU Taxonomy is a classification system defining which products and business activities can be considered environmentally sustainable.

It is based on six environmental objectives, initially focusing on the first two:

• climate change mitigation,

• climate change adaptation.

Technical screening criteria determine whether a given activity meets requirements in areas such as:

• energy efficiency,

• circular economy,

• emission reduction,

• reduction of plastic use,

• protection of water resources and biodiversity.

Scope: Companies covered by CSRD; financial market participants; indirect impact on non-EU entities through CSRD/SFDR.

Application: From financial year 2022; Taxonomy revisions apply from financial year 2025 (with an option for deferral).

Taxonomy disclosures include the share of revenue, CAPEX, and OPEX aligned with the Taxonomy. Based on these disclosures, banks and funds assess the “greenness” of their portfolios.

The significance of the Taxonomy goes beyond reporting — without compliance with the technical criteria, the cost of capital increases.