ESG affects every company
ESG stands for ‘ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE’. Through ESG, the European Union obliges companies to treat the environment, climate and human rights with care.
The ESG guides support you in adapting your company management to these new rules in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
From 50 or 500 or 1000 employees …
… every company is subject to the EU's ESG regulations, depending on the respective set of rules, which is constantly changing.
In December 2025, the EU institutions finally agreed on the proposals from their 'Omnibus' initiative of March 2025.
CSRD (Sustainability Reports)
The size of companies subject to reporting requirements was significantly increased to 1,000 employees (instead of 250 previously) with EUR 450 million in turnover (instead of 50 previously).
The start of the reporting obligation was postponed by two years for most companies to data from 2027, with the first reports due in 2028.
TR (Taxonomy Regulation)
The same thresholds as for the CSRD are now in place. From 1,000 employees (instead of 500 previously) with a turnover of EUR 450 million.
CSDDD (Supply Chain)
Significantly higher thresholds, i.e. from 5,000 employees with a turnover of EUR 1.5 billion. Postponement of entry into force by a further two years to mid/end of 2029.
Reporting standards
ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) remain the basis for mandatory reporting, while being revised to reduce the amount of data points to be reported.
VSME (Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standards for SMEs) remain voluntary for small and medium-sized companies which can use them to respond to pressure from their larger customers who are obliged to report.
Caution! The above-mentioned reduced reporting requirements for SMEs are being counteracted by new EU guidelines for the banking system: banks must take greater account of ESG criteria when granting loans. The VSME standard becomes "quasi-mandatory" through the back door. And this again affects small and medium-sized enterprises, albeit indirectly, unlike the large companies that are directly affected.
These directly affected companies pass on the pressure for implementation to their smaller upstream suppliers. Therefore, all companies are effectively obliged to comply with the ESG requirements at least in part - regardless of their size.
ESG requires your company to comply with extensive action and reporting obligations. In addition to financial indicators, numerous sustainability indicators must be defined and fulfilled. ESG effectively creates a new economic system - with permanent rule changes!
Your company's supply chain, processes, risk management and reporting must be restructured. The ESG regulations are very confusing and are constantly changing. Non-compliance can result in horrendous penalties. Without the support of competent ESG guides, your company will always lag behind the latest changes - with all the associated risks.
Find out more details in our first presentation on Political framework – EU enforcement options: Download here.
Advice and implementation from a single source
You can hardly get to grips with the ESG requirements with advice alone, which is why we take on the implementation for your company at the same time!
Our goal as ESG guides is to get your company out of the subscription trap of having to repeatedly purchase expensive consulting services after the umpteenth ESG rule change: We get you ahead of developing new situation changes so that you can move on under your own steam!
The ESG guides work in tandem with an EU Monitoring Insider and an ESG Interim Manager. The EU Monitoring Insider is our analyst and knows EU legislation from the inside: This puts him in a position to accurately forecast upcoming ESG regulatory changes today. He passes this unique knowledge advantage on to our ESG Interim Manager, who sets up your company's processes and sustainability reports today in such a way that repeated adjustments in the future are minimized. This saves you time and money.
Find out more about Action opportunities for companies with our second presentation: Download here.
Specific Services
Do you need quick help, e.g. for the ESG project team in your company, or do you want to outsource your ESG reporting completely? You only book what you really need from our catalogue of services.
- Sustainability reports in accordance with the VSME, ESRS or other standards.
- Performance of the double materiality analysis.
- Greenhouse gas balance, recording and reduction of:
- CO2 emissions in Scopes 1,2 and 3.
- CO2 footprint of your company / Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF).
- CO2 footprint of individual products / Product Carbon Footprint (PCF).
- Compensation through the use of CO2 certificates, if possible.
- Dealing with the customs duties of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) when importing CO2-containing goods from outside the EU.
- Recommendation of suitable software tools for your sustainability reports.
Benefit from our expertise in dealing with the regulatory requirements of
- the European Union, e.g. Taxonomy Regulation (TR), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
- the Federal Republic of Germany's laws on due diligence in the supply chain, e.g. Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG). It applies to upstream suppliers from abroad, too.
Be proactive and stay one step ahead of developments!
Your ESG Guides
Our two tandems of EU Monitoring Insider and ESG Interim Manager. Further tandems are in preparation.
Donald Greiner
EU Monitoring Insider
Our analyst
Economist Donald Greiner worked as an analyst in the EU Parliament and in the private sector. In the meantime, he monitored the EU's ESG legislation from the German Bundestag. Now he is working in Brussels again.
Hansjoerg Mueller
ESG Interim Manager
In the company
Hansjoerg Mueller has a degree in economics and develops companies with a focus on sales, supply chain management (SCM), process optimization, restructuring and ESG. As a member of the Bundestag, he gained intimate insights into the ESG-driven restructuring of the economy.
Regions: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, BRICS, Chile
Julian Kopetzky
EU Monitoring Insider
Our analyst
Entrepreneur Julian Kopetzky prepares ESG ratings. He works with Donald Greiner on ESG analysis of the EU.
Karlheinz Zuerl
ESG Interim Manager
In the company
Dipl.-Ing. Karlheinz Zuerl is an interim manager specializing in supply chain, cost management and business development. His responsibilities include ESG and CO2 footprint management.
Regions: Europe, Asia, APAC
Donald Greiner
EU Monitoring Insider
Our analyst
Economist Donald Greiner worked as an analyst in the EU Parliament and in the private sector. He now monitors the EU's ESG legislation from the German Bundestag.
Hansjoerg Mueller
ESG Interim Manager
In the company
Hansjoerg Mueller has a degree in economics and develops companies with a focus on sales, supply chain management (SCM), process optimization, restructuring and ESG. As a member of the Bundestag, he gained intimate insights into the ESG-driven restructuring of the economy.
Regions: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Chile
Julian Kopetzky
EU Monitoring Insider
Our analyst
Entrepreneur and computer science student Julian Kopetzky prepares ESG ratings. He works with Donald Greiner on ESG analysis of the EU.
Karlheinz Zuerl
ESG Interim Manager
In the company
Dipl.-Ing. Karlheinz Zuerl is an interim manager specializing in supply chain, cost management and business development. His responsibilities include ESG and CO2 footprint management.
Regions: Europe, Asia, APAC
Donald Greiner
EU Monitoring Insider
Our analyst
Economist Donald Greiner worked as an analyst in the EU Parliament and in the private sector. He now monitors the EU's ESG legislation from the German Bundestag.
Hansjoerg Mueller
ESG Interim Manager
In the company
Regions: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Chile
Hansjoerg Mueller has a degree in economics and develops companies with a focus on sales, supply chain management (SCM), process optimization, restructuring and ESG. As a member of the Bundestag, he gained intimate insights into the ESG-driven restructuring of the economy.
Julian Kopetzky
EU Monitoring Insider
Our analyst
Entrepreneur and computer science student Julian Kopetzky prepares ESG ratings. He works with Donald Greiner on ESG analysis of the EU.
Karlheinz Zuerl
ESG Interim Manager
In the company
Regions: Europe, Asia, APAC
Dipl.-Ing. Karlheinz Zuerl is an interim manager specializing in supply chain, cost management and business development. His responsibilities include ESG and CO2 footprint management.
For traditional interim projects that originally have nothing to do with ESG, our experienced interim managers can also handle the new ESG requirements, which have become mandatory, at the same time. In doing so, they rely on their pilot partners, the EU Monitoring Insiders.
Webinars
In 2023, we discussed previous versions of the above PowerPoint presentations on challenges and solution in a two-part webinar. The statements we made back then are still true.
On the audio track, we provide further background information on how the EU really ticks in the area of ESG and show why the pilot tandem of EU Monitoring Insider and ESG Interim Manager is the most efficient practical solution for your company.
First webinar: Political framework conditions - EU enforcement options. Watch here (only available in German)
Second webinar: Action opportunities for companies. Watch here (only available in German)
Latest developments 2025: ESG sustainability reports from 2025 - the grace period has expired. Watch here (only available in German)