CBS professor: Delayed ESG requirements could give green companies a historic head start.

When the EU implemented its new corporate sustainability directive (known as CSRD) in 2023, European companies faced a massive challenge: the reporting requirements were extensive, and by the end of the year, 88 percent of surveyed Western European firms said they simply did not feel ready to meet CSRD obligations.

In 2025, the EU postponed parts of the CSRD reporting obligations through the so-called Omnibus packages, using a formal “stop-the-clock” mechanism to delay application for certain companies, significantly simplify requirements for the largest companies, and exempt smaller companies from mandatory CSRD reporting altogether.

Nevertheless, the initial shock from the CSRD adoption has shaken the mindset of many companies. That’s the experience at Position Green, a provider of ESG software and advisory solutions.

“For many, the CSRD requirements have been a wake-up call to the fact that there are systemic sustainability risks they’ll need to address in the long term – but also that there are potentially very large growth opportunities waiting,”

Anders De Lichtenberg, Global Head of Advisory, Position Green

Still missing the tools

The experience at Position Green is supported by several large-scale surveys. A recent Morgan Stanley study shows that 94 percent of European companies now view sustainability as an opportunity for value creation – not least through lower capital costs, better credit ratings, and increased investor confidence.

Despite the good intentions, Position Green sees that many companies are still searching for the tools to make the green transformation tangible.

“Sustainability departments have traditionally been more value-driven than financially driven in their thinking. Many are beginning to see that the two are connected, but we still see companies struggling to translate that mindset into practice,” says Anders.

Among the benefits are savings from energy-efficiency investments, generally lower risk tied to sustainable solutions, improved credit ratings and lower interest rates on ‘green loans,’ as well as significant savings from future CO₂ taxation.

And although many large companies already include a shadow price on CO₂ in their business cases, Anders de Lichtenberg believes that many still need to learn to see sustainable choices from a long-term perspective.

“In a classic business case, you still tend to look only at the immediate financial pros and cons, without considering the future savings associated with sustainable initiatives – in the form of tax reliefs, cheaper loans, and so on. But it’s over the long term that many of these sustainability gains will really materialize,” he says.

‘Sustainable Business Playbook’

In a brand-new playbook, Position Green guides companies on how to turn sustainability into growth. The playbook includes insights from both internal and external experts and uses multiple case examples to demonstrate how ESG initiatives can directly generate financial gains – and how to calculate them.

The playbook also features a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of 1,900 European companies across 11 industries, examining how they are transforming ESG compliance requirements into business advantages.

The tangible gains

A number of concrete calculations illustrate just how much green investments can impact the bottom line.

A collaboration between Position Green and the Stockholm School of Economics showed that a company’s investment in energy efficiency increased its NPV (Net Present Value) from €400,000 to between €1.3 and €2.1 million once expected CO₂ taxation was included. Factoring in a lower interest rate on a green loan raised the value further to between €1.5 and €2.4 million.

“That way, you can clearly see your NPV improve significantly. It makes an impression,” says Anders de Lichtenberg, adding that such calculations are exactly what make CFOs and investors see ESG as business rather than compliance.

Andreas Rasche, Professor at the Centre for Sustainability at CBS in Copenhagen – and a member of Position Green’s advisory board – agrees that these “green variables” can work wonders in a business case. However, the size of the gain varies considerably, he points out.

“In general, no company is punished for sustainability – and most will have something to gain. Exactly how much depends entirely on the sector and the individual company,” says Rasche, adding:

“That’s exactly why reporting is so important. I wish more people understood that reporting isn’t a waste of money – it’s essential information for managing your company. You can only make NPV calculations and similar analyses if you have the data, and that requires reporting.”

Anders de Lichtenberg also notes that, according to several studies, sustainable initiatives have a particularly positive impact on small and medium-sized companies’ ability to attract and retain young employees.

Finally, sustainability is increasingly becoming a key factor for investors – not only for listed companies. Private equity funds and institutional investors are also increasingly assessing ESG performance as a measure of value creation and a signal that the market is moving faster than regulation.

“At Position Green, we often help private equity funds conduct ESG due diligence when they’re considering acquiring a company. Previously, the only concern was whether there were any major red flags in terms of sustainability – and if not, they simply went ahead.

Now we’re seeing a much broader dialogue around how sustainability is or can become a value driver. The mindset has completely changed: ESG is an economic opportunity, not a compliance burden,” says Anders de Lichtenberg.

A better chance to position yourself

The Omnibus changes have undoubtedly put a temporary damper on the ESG market and left many European companies in uncertainty, says Andreas Rasche. After earlier political turbulence, the European Parliament approved the final Omnibus I compromise text on 16 December 2025, following a provisional trilogue agreement on 9 December 2025, with only formal Council adoption and publication in the Official Journal remaining.

Even though the lack of political clarity has slowed momentum in the short term, it could become a competitive advantage for individual companies, argues Anders de Lichtenberg.

“When all companies were racing to meet the EU’s CSRD requirements, everyone was following the same roadmap. The demands were so extensive that there was little room to think about differentiation,” he says, adding:

“With the Omnibus changes, companies must once again consider what their competitors are doing in ESG – and how they can position themselves strategically in relation to them. That’s turned ESG initiatives into a competitive opportunity in a way we didn’t see before the Omnibus packages.”

“With the Omnibus changes, companies must once again consider what their competitors are doing in ESG – and how they can position themselves strategically in relation to them.”

Andreas Rasche, Professor of Business in Society, Copenhagen Business School

A sustainable future

In the long run, sustainability will be unavoidable, says Andreas Rasche.

“In the long term, we can be quite certain that sustainability will remain high on the agenda – not least because the laws of nature ultimately trump politics. And then there’s the economic rationale: we’re already locked into green technologies because they’re cheaper and because massive investments have already been made in them. That can’t be reversed,” he says.

The road ahead may be paved with more political hurdles, Rasche admits – but ultimately, there will be no way around sustainable initiatives.

“Regardless of which political winds are blowing, the arguments for sustainability will only grow stronger over time, because the risks are becoming more severe. The smart companies act before they have to,” says Rasche.

For the companies that are already turning ESG into growth, the delay in EU requirements could prove to be a historic advantage. While others wait for new guidelines, the frontrunners are investing in integrating sustainability as a competitive parameter – gaining lower financing costs, stronger investor trust, and a head start in export markets.

From a business perspective, sustainability is no longer about whether it will become mandatory – but who manages to make it part of their business model first.

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And if you want to mirror the ongoing efforts of the businesses already leading with a strategic-first sustainability strategy, then the best next step you can take is to sign up to the Position Green newsletter. It’s our monthly shortlist of the best sustainability tips, designed to help you limit compliance stress, so that your teams can focus solely on the sustainable upside.