ESRS E4 after Omnibus: biodiversity and ecosystems reporting under the amended ESRS (2026)
ESRS E4 is the CSRD standard for biodiversity and ecosystems reporting, applying only when biodiversity is identified as material through a double materiality assessment.
Read the full introduction
ESRS E4 is the CSRD standard for biodiversity and ecosystems reporting, applying only when biodiversity is identified as material through a double materiality assessment. Following the Omnibus proposal, EFRAG's December 2025 draft makes transition plan disclosure conditional on one already existing, consolidates metrics around location-based impacts, and limits policies, targets, and actions to cases where they are already in place. The European Commission is expected to adopt the amended standards by summer 2026.
Key Takeaways
- ESRS E4 is the CSRD standard for biodiversity and ecosystems reporting, applying only when the topic is deemed material.
- Post-Omnibus, the December 2025 draft makes biodiversity transition plan disclosure conditional on one already being in place.
- Policies, targets, and actions only need to be disclosed if they already exist and are relevant to material biodiversity impacts.
- Coolset's platform helps companies run ESRS E4 materiality assessments and structure biodiversity disclosures for CSRD, book a free demo today.
In response to the EU's evolving sustainability reporting framework, ESRS E4 establishes the requirements for corporate biodiversity and ecosystems reporting under CSRD. This standard requires companies to assess their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity and to disclose how they are managing related risks and opportunities.
What is ESRS E4?
ESRS E4 — Biodiversity and Ecosystems — is the CSRD standard covering how a company affects and depends on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Key areas of disclosure include:
- Impacts of operations on biodiversity (land use, species loss, habitat degradation)
- Dependencies on ecosystem services (water, pollination, soil quality)
- Site-level biodiversity assessments for operations in or near sensitive areas
- Targets and actions to address biodiversity impacts
- Alignment with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and Kunming-Montreal goals
What changed under Omnibus
The Omnibus I Directive simplified ESRS E4 significantly. Key changes:
- Many data points previously mandatory are now conditional or optional
- Site-level reporting requirements simplified
- Biodiversity transition plan requirements reduced for companies outside the largest scope
Companies with 1,000+ employees and >€450M turnover still face meaningful E4 reporting obligations, but the overall burden is lower than originally specified.
How to approach ESRS E4
Biodiversity is one of the most challenging ESRS topics because data availability is low and methodologies are still developing. A practical approach:
- Start with materiality: Your DMA determines whether E4 is material. Many companies will find E4 material given global supply chains and land-use impacts.
- Map your value chain: Identify where your operations and supply chain intersect with sensitive biodiversity areas.
- Use sector-specific guidance: Different sectors (agriculture, food, textiles, construction) have different biodiversity footprints. Industry frameworks like TNFD provide sector-specific tools.
- Build toward site-level data: Even where Omnibus has reduced mandatory site-level requirements, best practice points toward granular geographic data for high-impact operations.
How Coolset supports ESRS E4
Coolset’s CSRD platform guides companies through the ESRS E4 requirements as part of the full ESRS data collection and reporting workflow. Book a demo to see how it works.
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