Here at Ever, we’ve distilled the latest sustainability regulatory developments into five key updates that organisations should be aware of.
GHG Protocol and ISO move toward a unified global carbon accounting standard
- In July 2026, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol announced that it will combine its corporate greenhouse gas accounting standards with ISO's ISO 14064-1 standard into a single harmonised global corporate standard.
- The proposed standard will integrate the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, Scope 2 Guidance, Scope 3 Standard and Actions & Market Instruments workstream alongside ISO 14064-1.
- A consolidated public consultation is expected in 2027, with publication of the final standard planned for 2028.
Why it matters
- The move represents one of the most significant developments in greenhouse gas accounting for over a decade and aims to reduce fragmentation across emissions reporting requirements.
- As the GHG Protocol underpins many sustainability reporting frameworks, including ISSB and ESRS-related climate disclosures, any future revisions could have implications across corporate reporting, target-setting and assurance processes.
Next steps for your organisation
- Monitor developments closely and ensure emissions inventories, methodologies and governance processes are sufficiently robust to adapt to future changes in greenhouse gas accounting requirements.
European Commission adopts revised ESRS
- On 3 July 2026, the European Commission formally adopted the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) as part of its Omnibus I simplification package.
- The revised ESRS are shorter and clearer, add new flexibilities, and streamline key processes. They reduce mandatory datapoints by more than 60%, simplify the DMA process by encouraging a top-down approach and enhance interoperability with international standards and EU legislation.
- The revised ESRS introduce a legally binding "value chain cap", limiting the sustainability information that CSRD-reporting companies can request from smaller companies in their value chain.
- The updated standards are expected to apply from FY2027, subject to completion of the legislative process.
Why it matters
- The top-down approach to DMAs will allow organisations to focus on sustainability topics most likely to be material before undertaking detailed analysis. This will help reduce the time and resources required to conduct assessments while retaining double materiality as a core reporting principle.
- The new value chain cap aims to protect and reduce reporting burdens for smaller organisations across value chains while establishing a clear and proportionate framework.
Next steps for your organisation
- Those preparing for CSRD should review the revised requirements, reassess reporting readiness and consider how simplification opportunities can be used to improve the focus and quality of sustainability disclosures.
ISSB progresses nature-related disclosure guidance
- In July 2026, the ISSB approved the next stage of development for its proposed nature-related disclosure guidance and agreed to begin the formal balloting process.
- The proposed guidance will be issued as an IFRS Practice Statement designed to support the application of IFRS S1 and help organisations identify and disclose nature-related risks and opportunities.
- An exposure draft is expected to be published in October 2026 followed by a 120-day comment period.
Why it matters
- The development signals continued expansion of sustainability reporting beyond climate, with increasing expectations around biodiversity, water, land use and broader nature-related issues.
- It also demonstrates the ISSB's intention to strengthen consistency and comparability in nature-related disclosures without creating a standalone reporting standard.
Next steps for your organisation
- Those preparing for UK SRS or IFRS S1 reporting should assess whether biodiversity and broader nature-related topics are material to their business, develop an understanding of TNFD's LEAP approach, and engage with the Practice Statement to understand the implications for identifying and reporting nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities (DIROs).
EU anti-greenwashing rules start to apply under the Empowering Consumers Directive
- From 27 September 2026, the EU's Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive will begin applying. The legislation restricts the use of generic environmental claims and requires sustainability labels to be based on recognised certification schemes or established by public authorities.
- The Directive also introduces stricter requirements around environmental marketing claims, product durability and repairability information, helping consumers make more informed purchasing decisions.
Why it matters
- Organisations will face greater scrutiny over sustainability-related claims, increasing the importance of robust evidence, governance and substantiation processes to support communications and disclosures.
Next steps for your organisation
- Review sustainability claims used across marketing, product communications and reporting to ensure they can be substantiated and are aligned with the Directive's requirements.
EU Circular Economy Act aims to create a Single Market for recycled materials
- The European Commission is expected to publish its Circular Economy Act in Q3 2026, with the objective of establishing a Single Market for secondary raw materials, increasing the availability of high-quality recycled materials and stimulating demand for recycled content across the EU.
- The proposal forms part of the EU's broader ambition to double its circular material use rate to 24% by 2030 and strengthen resource security.
Why it matters
- The Act signals a shift toward greater regulatory focus on resource efficiency, recycled content and circular business models, with implications for product design, supply chains and material sourcing strategies.
- A more harmonised EU market for secondary raw materials could also help organisations reduce exposure to volatile commodity markets and critical raw material shortages.
Next steps for your organisation
- Monitor the development of the Circular Economy Act and assess opportunities to increase the use of recycled materials, strengthen circularity initiatives and prepare for potential future requirements linked to circular product design and resource efficiency.
Get in touch
If your organisation is impacted by these evolving sustainability regulations and reporting developments, or you would like to discuss what they could mean in practice, please get in touch.