'As a sector you don't want to compete on sustainability'

The Omnibus simplification package has made the European rules for sustainability reporting only relevant to a few companies. “This does not diminish the importance of sustainability: instead, it paves the way for a much more pragmatic approach,” says Stef Driessen of ABN Amro.

On 26 February, the European Commission presen­ted its Omnibus simplification package to simplify the rules for sustainability reporting (CSRD). The reporting obligations will only apply to the largest companies, removing about 80 percent of companies from the scope of the CSRD. Of the companies that still have to report, the majority have been granted an extension until 2028, and the number of reporting templates has been reduced by 70 percent.

The likelihood that companies no longer subject to the CSRD will still be required to report to companies that are has also decreased. The reporting requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) are also being simplified, which obliges companies to thoroughly investigate the impact on the environment and human rights throughout their value chain.

More effective

“Marginalising the CSRD does not have to negatively impact sustainability in the business world,” says Stef Driessen, Sector Banker Hotels & ­Leisure at ABN Amro. “Sometimes, companies have to pay accountants large sums for the reporting. They can better invest that money in sustainability, which has a much greater effect.”

The bank is still committed to its sustainability objectives, which also include reducing interest rates for companies with sustainability goals. “In the past, we already had a sustainability loan, which required companies to score well on three sustainability-related criteria. That was ambitious. As a company, you can now get an interest rate reduction on one sustainability criterion. It’s about whether we feel the company’s objective is ambitious.”

Attractive interest discount

As an example, he mentions the impact loan concluded with the Johan Cruijff Arena related to reducing energy consumption per visitor. “If the arena achieves its objective, it will get a 0.3 percent interest discount, which would amount to hundreds of thousands of euros,” says Driessen. “It profits both sides: the return increases and financing costs decrease.”

In addition to saving on energy, there are more aspects where sustainability ambitions can lead to interest rate reduction, such as diversity in senior management, reducing food waste and logistics. “There are about 10 variables that we can act on fairly quickly,” Driessen explains.

Many hidden costs

According to him, logistics is an aspect within live communication that requires extra attention. “That’s where the most potential for improvement lies, not only from the sustainability ­perspective. There are still many hidden costs in the supply chain. Every so often, a venue receives supplies 12 times a day. Finding solutions for this is the most profitable. Seems to me like a proper challenge for a large stand builder, for example.”

“With the CSRD obligation virtually gone, it’s time to work together as a sector on sustainability,” says Driessen. “Bring together all HR directors to think about personnel issues and all technical services representatives to look at water consumption. In doing so, you bring all disciplines together to share knowledge and come up with collective solutions. In banking, for example, you have Geldmaat, which ensures that cash remains available in an inexpen­sive way. Almost all banks benefit from that.”

Reward courage and creativity

In addition to collaboration, Driessen also sees organising ‘battles’ as an incentive for sustainability, even though it seems to go against the collective efforts advocated above. “No, that’s not true. We need to have companies that experiment and move forward. You want to stimulate courage and creativity by having companies compete for an industry-wide award.