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Press Release

Position Paper: ETSA acknowledges Omnibus Proposal and Calls for Smart, Proportionate Sustainability Rules

Brussels [21 May 2025]- The European Textile Services Association (ETSA), representing the textile service industry across Europe and beyond, acknowledges the European Commission's Omnibus Regulation proposal of 26 February 2025. The initiative is a much-needed step toward simplifying EU sustainability reporting obligations under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

ETSA, a Climate Ambassador since 2021 strongly supports simplification that maintains environmental ambition while reducing unnecessary administrative burdens. In particular, ETSA advocates for a clearer and more proportional approach to double materiality assessments and assurance requirements. Current expectations often exceed the operational capacity of many companies, especially those in Wave 2 and 3, who may meet legal thresholds but sometimes lack the reporting infrastructure of larger firms. Simplified reporting expectations are crucial to enable meaningful participation without overstretching resources and putting an undue burden on business. Moreover, ETSA urges that audit processes be tailored to sustainability data, not financial audit models, and that reporting obligations be scaled to company size and sector relevance.

ETSA also calls for a reduction in the number of mandatory data points, especially those that are impractical or offer little added value. In areas such as Scope 3 emissions and EU Taxonomy disclosures, flexibility and voluntary approaches should remain central, at least until more harmonised methodologies are developed. We also acknowledge the proposed shift from annual to five-year review cycles under the CSDDD, along with safeguards to protect SMEs from excessive upstream data requests. ETSA views these adjustments as essential to ensuring that sustainability due diligence remains actionable and proportionate, particularly for smaller businesses. Elena Lai, Secretary-General of ETSA commented: "The textile service sector plays a critical role in Europe's circular economy. Considered by the EU as an essential sector, it is crucial to the everyday health and safety of European citizens. This paper is the result of a thorough work and analysis showing ETSA's goals in supporting transparent, impactful sustainability actions where sustainability and competitiveness truly go hand in hand."

The textile services sector plays a critical role in Europe's circular economy, and ETSA remains committed to supporting transparent, impactful sustainability action. The full position paper, with all these positions and more, outlined in further detail is available for download in the attachment.

ETSA Position Paper on the Omnibus directive (208 KB)

For more information, please contact:
European Textile Services Association (ETSA)

Nikolas Schulze-Makuch
Communications Coordinator
n.schulze-makuch@etsa-europe.org