Hi there 👋
Welcome to this week’s edition of TSC News.
This time, we’re diving into what rising competing priorities and recent regulatory delays mean for sustainability leaders. What happens when long-term plans get put on hold? What shifts when the external pressure fades? We’re sharing reflections from a recent TSC roundtable, where members came together to compare realities, strategies, and concerns in this changing landscape.
🚌 Community Perspectives – After the Omnibus
Insights from a recent Community Roundtable
No time? Skip to the end of the article for a TL;DR
The ground is shifting for sustainability leaders.
The EU’s Omnibus proposal confirmed what many had sensed: CSRD is delayed by two years, fewer companies are in scope, and disclosure requirements have been simplified. What was once positioned as a bold transformation is now being softened not only in Brussels, but across Europe’s political and corporate landscapes.
And the reasons go far beyond sustainability itself.
Amid war on the continent, rising defense spending, fragile transatlantic alliances, and growing concern over Europe’s competitiveness, priorities are being rearranged. In this context, sustainability struggles to command the same political attention or corporate urgency it did just a year ago.
The CSRD rollback reflects this shift.
And for those leading sustainability inside companies, the implications are layered:
Personally — as roles and mandates evolve
Organizationally — as departments built around compliance face uncertainty
Strategically — as long-term transformation efforts risk losing momentum
Against this backdrop, we brought together TSC members to share what’s changing inside their companies and how they’re responding.
A Mixed Reality
The impact of the rollback varies.
Some members said the delay changed little, especially in companies with firm decarbonization targets or where SBTi and other frameworks still apply. Others shared a more fragile picture: momentum fading, leadership attention drifting, and internal skepticism creeping back in.
Several pointed to structural factors:
Is the company public or privately owned?
How far along are internal systems?
How deep was buy-in before the delay?
Across the conversation, three broad camps emerged:
Pushing ahead — using the time to strengthen systems and deepen buy-in
Stuck in limbo — unsure whether budgets or leadership attention will hold
Losing ground — with projects paused and roles quietly cut
The common thread: a renewed challenge to keep sustainability high on the agenda.
Publishing Anyway?
Despite the delay, several leaders shared plans to publish CSRD-style reports in 2025.
The work is largely done. Stakeholders still expect something.
But in many cases, it’s not a clear top-down mandate. It’s sustainability teams making the case internally. Reframing the work as reputation management, investor communication, or future-proofing ahead of 2027.
“We had to reframe it — not as compliance, but as readiness.”
Many are adapting scope:
- Publishing lighter reports
- Sharing them internally or with key investors
- Staying CSRD-aligned without calling it that
What’s clear: This isn’t on autopilot. Sustainability leaders have to justify their work in new terms, with less attention, less certainty, and more questions about value.
Beyond Compliance: Strategy or Stall?
This moment isn’t just about reporting. It’s about the relevance of sustainability inside the business.
For some, the CSRD preparation phase had been a breakthrough. Helping them in unlocking budget, visibility, and a seat at the table. Now, that traction feels uncertain again.
“CSRD finally got us taken seriously. Now with the delay, it’s harder to keep that urgency.”
Still, many are pushing forward by doing things like:
- Reframing the value as risk management or investor communication
- Aligning with stable frameworks like GRI, ISSB, or TCFD
- Deepening collaboration with finance, audit, and procurement
- Continuing internal audits and refining materiality
What’s at Stake
But the risks are real. Some members shared hard consequences already playing out:
- Losing influence — doors that were finally open are closing again
- Budget cuts — scopes reduced, timelines paused, ambitions scaled back
- Career pressure — job offers withdrawn, teams stretched, roles made redundant
But beyond individual roles or budgets, something bigger is at risk.
The actual transformation. The change that had started to take root inside systems and strategies.
If urgency fades, progress does too. And with it, the impact this work was meant to have.
Where Do We Go From Here?
This isn’t just a slowdown. It’s a stress test.
Without regulatory urgency, sustainability leaders are being asked to justify the work on new terms. And some are rising to the challenge, not by retreating, but by reframing.
Across the session, we heard a clear pattern:
To stay relevant, sustainability must now prove its value through resilience, risk, and real performance.
That means:
- Tying efforts to business continuity and operational resilience
- Showing how sustainability work strengthens risk management and future readiness
- Building bridges to finance, procurement, and audit — not just to report, but to embed
- Framing initiatives in terms of strategic advantage, not just regulatory obligation
The leaders who succeed now won’t be the ones who waited for direction.
They’ll be the ones who made the case anyway and kept the momentum alive.
That’s the shift. And it’s one we’ll keep supporting inside TSC.
TL;DR
Reporting Continues. Many plan to publish CSRD-style reports with adapted scope.
Momentum Is Bottom-Up. Sustainability teams are pushing forward despite less support.
Progress Is at Risk. The delay risks undoing hard-won internal traction.
Use the Time Well. Teams are refining systems and aligning with stable frameworks.
Prove the Value. Anchor sustainability in resilience, risk, and real performance.
⏰ Don’t Miss Tomorrow’s Live Session on LinkedIn
We’ll be picking up on some of the themes from this newsletter in a moderated discussion with sustainability leaders.
👉 RSVP: Link to event
🗓️ Upcoming Community Events
11.06 — Leadership Mindset Session:“The Art of Influence — Storytelling & Presence in Leadership”
To shape the future, you need to know how to shape a room. This session blends neuroscience, narrative design, and presence techniques to help you lead with clarity, confidence, and impact.
👉 RSVP and learn more
18.06 — Roundtable: "From Cost Center to Value Driver: (Re)positioning Sustainability at the Core"
In many organizations, sustainability is still seen as a cost or compliance task. This roundtable is for leaders changing that story—positioning sustainability as innovation, strategy, and value creation.
👉 RSVP and learn more
— Max 💜
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