Are We Losing Sight of Children’s Rights in the Rush to Simplify Sustainability Reporting?

The European Union’s recent Omnibus Proposal introduces major changes to corporate sustainability reporting. While these revisions aim to ease compliance burdens, they also raise concerns about the potential weakening of corporate accountability—especially when it comes to children’s rights. In a rush to simplify regulations, are we leaving the most vulnerable behind?

At Global Child Forum, we our firm in our conviction: children’s rights must not become a casualty of regulatory rollbacks. That’s why, in collaboration with LEGO Group, we developed The Corporate Playbook: Embedding Children’s Rights in ESRS Reporting—a practical guide helping businesses integrate children’s rights into their sustainability disclosures.

Now, with reporting requirements shrinking, we believe this is a time for leadership, not loopholes. The Corporate Playbook isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about helping businesses future-proof their strategies, strengthen their due diligence, and embed children’s rights into everyday decision-making, regardless of the regulatory climate.

What’s changing in EU sustainability reporting?

The Omnibus Proposal seeks to simplify corporate reporting by:

• Narrowing the CSRD scope—only companies with 1,000+ employees will be required to report, exempting thousands of previously covered businesses.
• Delaying CSRD implementation by two years, giving companies more time before full compliance is required.
• Reducing due diligence obligations in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), limiting companies’ responsibility to mainly direct business partners.
• Removing sector-specific standards from ESRS, despite companies asking for more clarity on material impacts.

While these changes may reduce short-term reporting pressures, they also risk deprioritising critical social issues—especially those, like children’s rights, that don’t always show up in traditional financial indicators.

The shift from compliance to commitment

What we’re seeing now is a shift: from a focus on reporting to a focus on management. The theory of change behind sustainability reporting is being tested.

Regulations are no longer guaranteed drivers of transparency. But this doesn’t mean companies should stop integrating children’s rights into their strategies.

In fact, this is the moment to reframe the question from “What do we have to report?” to “What kind of business do we want to be?”

For companies committed to human rights and responsible business conduct, the need to know and show their impacts remains. But the mechanisms are changing.

Investors still ask questions. Consumers still hold expectations. And children’s rights remain a material issue.

Why The Corporate Playbook matters

In the absence of strong regulatory levers, it is up to responsible companies—and the coalitions that support them—to drive progress.

The Corporate Playbook is a vital tool for translating values into action, and for helping businesses stay true to their commitments, regardless of shifting policies.

The question is no longer just what to report—but how to lead.