CSRD Dates to Know: Why MSPs, Channel Partners and Sustainability Consultants Need to Prepare Now

At first glance, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is a compliance regulation designed for European Union companies. But take a closer look, and you'll see why CSRD will impact thousands of businesses -- large, medium and small -- worldwide.

CSRD is an EU law that "requires all large companies and all listed companies (except listed micro-enterprises) to disclose information on what they see as the risks and opportunities arising from social and environmental issues, and on the impact of their activities on people and the environment," according to the European Commission.

CSRD has worldwide implications. For instance, even "companies in the US with operations, subsidiaries, or significant business interests in the EU are impacted by the CSRD," according to Sustainable Brands.

CSRD Enforcement Dates to Know in 2024, 2025 and 2026

Among the key CSRD dates that businesses should keep in mind:

• January 1, 2024: The CSRD reporting requirements started to apply to large public interest entities already subject to the NFRD (the Non-Financial Reporting Directive), Sustainable Brands notes.
• January 1, 2025: The requirements will extend to other large companies that have an EU subsidiary in scope of two of the three criteria: total assets exceed $27M, annual revenue exceed $54M, and has over 250 employees, Sustainable Brands adds
• January 1, 2026: Listed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will need to start reporting under CSRD, with the possibility of opting out until 2028, Sustainable Brands concludes.

Read between the lines, and CSRD is expected to incrementally impact roughly 3,000 U.S. companies of all sizes, Sustainable Brands asserts.

• The good news: Dozens of ESG reporting and carbon accounting software tools can assist customers with CSRD compliance.
• The bad news: Only some of those software companies have channel partner programs, and even fewer have multi-tenant systems for MSPs seeking a single dashboard to drive monthly recurring revenue (MRR) across multiple customers.
• Note: Search our Partner Programs Database for various "ESG" software solutions.

Meanwhile, additional sustainability regulations could surface in the United States -- though many of them face legal and political pushback. Keep an eye on:

• SEC climate disclosure regulations;
• various California Carbon Emissions initiatives; and
• numerous Building Performance Standards that will impact real estate across multiple U.S. cities and states.

Sustainable IT Services: How Channel Partners and MSPs Can Get Started

Admittedly, CSRD compliance is only one piece of the larger sustainable IT services opportunity for channel partners.

Among the market forecasts to note: Roughly 50% of organizations will leverage sustainability monitoring technology to manage hybrid cloud energy consumption by 2026, Gartner predicts.

If you're just getting started on the journey, then check out this Green IT Playbook -- developed by Rackspace Technology and Smart Columbus, in partnership with the Green IT Working Group.