2025 saw the first year of sustainability reporting under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Now with 2026 reports coming in, EFRAG has been poring over the data. EFRAG’s new State of Play Report compares the latest wave of reports with the inaugural wave and highlights a number of interesting trends. Chief among those trends is the adoption of climate transition plans, which rose sharply since last year. The report notes:
“[Transition plan for climate change mitigation is] an important aspect that lays out how companies intend to transform their strategy and business models to ensure compatibility with the transition to a sustainable economy, already in the inaugural cycle, 55% of preparers declared having a Climate Transition Plan (CTP). In FY2025, this rate rose to 69% confirming continued momentum in this area, with a 14-p.p. increase recorded both in the “baseline” and “like-for-like” comparison.
At country level, Spain with 89%, France with 85% and Denmark with 81% are in the lead. At sector level, Real estate records the highest rate at 95%, followed by Administrative & support services at 82% and Transportation & storage and Construction both at 76%. Among Financial Institutions, Banks record the highest adoption with 78%.”
This is encouraging news and offers some evidence that disclosure regimes may tangibly influence corporate practices. However, correlation does not equal causation, and companies may have their own reasons for adopting transition plans at an increased rate beyond required disclosures. The leading sectors are another interesting piece of data. While climate change will impact all industries in one form or another, those facing heightened risk of physical impacts appear to be leaders in transition planning. Now that the EU has standardized and measurable sustainability metrics, we can more easily track these data points’ progress over the next several years.
Our members can learn more about climate transition here.
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