"The so-called Sustainability Omnibus announced by the European Commission, with its planned relief measures, is long overdue. Companies in the German automotive industry are suffocating in bureaucracy. It is completely incomprehensible that the Omnibus, which could at least provide some relief, is now stuck in the consultation process of the European institutions. An important opportunity will be missed to specifically relieve the burden on industrial SMEs, thereby undermining confidence in the commitments to reduce bureaucracy. Also important: The uncertainty between existing laws and announced relief measures is detrimental to Europe as a business location. European industry urgently needs clarity about future requirements.

The following still applies: Companies can only be held liable for risks over which they have control—anything else is unrealistic. It is therefore logical that the Omnibus draft refrains from EU-wide civil liability in the EU Supply Chain Act and, on the other hand, limits due diligence obligations to direct business relationships. However, it should be noted that while the EU Commission would largely avert future additional burdens for companies with the Omnibus, the proposal does not yet truly relieve companies of existing regulations.

The planned increase in the employee and net turnover thresholds for the application of the EU Supply Chain Act and the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) are fundamentally steps in the right direction, but they are not sufficient. The regulations continue to directly impact industrial SMEs and place a significant burden on them. The VDA therefore continues to propose a threshold of 3,500 employees for CSRD and CSDDD. Furthermore, turnover thresholds do not provide reliable information about the size of a company in industry, as the high costs of intermediate products and equipment account for a large portion of turnover without reflecting economic performance. 

The streamlining and simplification of the CSRD and CSDDD regulations planned in the Omnibus would contribute to improving compliance with the regulations. The consistent implementation of the announced simplifications is crucial. This applies in particular to the planned harmonization of data points, because the fact is: Sustainability reporting, the EU Supply Chain Act, and the taxonomy all collect thousands of data points which are often redundant and overlapping. These reporting requirements must finally be consolidated. It must also be examined whether redundant reporting obligations also exist due to other requirements.

One thing is certain: the small-mid-cap category envisaged in the Omnibus draft would also have addressed those companies that are too large for traditional SME exemptions, but too small to establish their own specialist departments, implement specialized systems, or permanently finance external consulting. Thus, SMEs remain caught between two stools—fully subject to regulatory obligations, but without the resources of large corporations.

Overall, the following applies: While there is clearly a need for improvement in the Sustainability Omnibus, it must not fail."