Winning sustainability: An omnibus for a competitive Europe

Executive summary

Europe’s ability to lead in the global technology race depends on a regulatory framework that fosters competitiveness. As outlined in our Winning the tech race report, Europe must take a strategic approach that enables innovation, sustainability progress, investment and economic resilience rather than burdening businesses with excessive bureaucracy.

DIGITALEUROPE supports an ambitious EU approach to sustainability and sustainability regulation. Our members are strongly committed to the green transition, and to implementing responsible business practices through their supply chains. Designed and implemented the right way, sustainability regulation can be a strategic asset for Europe and its industry.

This notwithstanding, regulatory simplification and reduction of administrative burden are critical to ensuring that sustainability and competitiveness can reinforce each other. We are pleased that the European Commission’s proposed omnibus package proposes ambitious steps to simplify sustainability reporting and due diligence obligations.

Overlapping obligations, unclear definitions, excessive reporting burdens and fragmented national transpositions undermine business confidence. The sustainability omnibus represents an opportunity to correct the fragmentation, complexity and inefficiencies in existing sustainability laws, ensuring that businesses can focus on meaningful progress rather than compliance overload. Without the refinements proposed in the omnibus, and a swift implementation to guarantee legal certainty, Europe risks falling behind its global competitors by discouraging investment and innovation.