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Insurers support Omnibus Simplification Package for more efficient sustainability reporting

The many requirements for sustainability reporting represent a considerable burden for insurers. In the context of the Omnibus Simplification Package, GDV is calling for the focus to be placed on high-quality data rather than a multitude of data.

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The German Insurance Association (GDV) welcomes the Commission's initiative to simplify sustainability reporting through the planned Omnibus Simplification Package. This package aims to bundle existing and future reporting obligations and reduce administrative burdens on companies.

“Sustainability information is important for us as investors and providers of risk coverage. However, the reports must be more focussed,“ said Jörg Asmussen, Chief Executive Officer of the GDV. Excessive requirements are detrimental to competitiveness and do not help the economy in the green transition.

Increase efficiency, maintain transparency

From the GDV’s perspective, the Omnibus Package offers a great opportunity to make sustainability reporting more efficient. “The original goal of the last Commission to reduce reporting obligations by 25 % is a good signal,” Asmussen said. “We need sustainability reporting that focuses less on quantity and more on the quality of the information. The better the data, the easier it is for insurers to take sound decisions in terms of sustainability.”

Safeguarding proportionality

The current size categories for determining the scope of reporting obligations are based on rigid thresholds that are unsuitable for small and medium-sized insurers. Due to their high turnover and balance sheet volume, almost all German insurers, including small regional undertakings, are considered large companies and are therefore subject to the same reporting obligations as international groups.

“The current criteria do not do justice to the special characteristics of the insurance industry and pose major challenges for smaller undertakings in particular,” Asmussen said. The GDV is calling for the introduction of industry-specific size categories or for insurers to only be subjected to the relevant reporting requirements if they have more than 250 employees. “It should not be about including as many companies as possible, but the right ones.”

About the Omnibus Simplification Package

The Omnibus Simplification Package is expected to be presented on 26 February 2025. According to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the package is intended to reduce administrative burdens on companies in the area of sustainability reporting. The aim is not to abolish existing frameworks, but to consolidate them. This consolidation concerns the Taxonomy Regulation, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

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