Keeping up with ESG - June Edition 2025

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Read time: 7-9 minutes

Today we cover:

• AI reshapes the industry and the role of sustainability (Deloitte, Reuters reports)
• CSDDD, EUDR, Battery: another round of deregulation 
• CBAM: simplified threshold agreed + LME adds reporting requirements
• S&P CSA success guide: how to maximize the score
• Omnibus might be unlawful: more uncertainty for businesses, and other updates

KEY REPORTS

AI or die: why mining & metals industry can’t afford to wait

Deloitte’s 2025 Tracking the Trends report lays out 10 forces shaping the future of mining and metals. Key takeaway: adaptability will separate winners from laggards, and AI will be the major lever.

It’s no longer an innovation side project. It’s a core strategic move to cut costs, improve safety, reduce burnout, and unlock meaningful insight.

“The future of work isn't about replacing humans with machines. It's about harnessing the symbiotic potential of AI tools, freeing workers to spend time on higher-value tasks that are innately more human.”

Translation: workers won’t be replaced by AI, they’ll be replaced by those who know how to use it.

Deloitte shares a useful example: engineers could offload 40–70% of their tasks, depending on the role. Now apply that to sustainability teams, currently buried in disclosure prep. Freeing up 70% of that time means they can support sales, drive strategy, and create real value. (Value-driven sustainability is also flagged as a key industry trend.)

The key challenge is culture. Our industry wasn’t built for fast change or tech experimentation. But that’s exactly what’s needed now. The question isn’t whether AI fits, it’s whether your org will move fast enough to benefit from it.

The sustainability job is evolving. Reuters Outlook 2025

Reuters, in its survey of over 1,100 sustainability professionals, found that companies investing early in AI are moving faster than the competition, and the gap is growing.

Only 25% of the most forward-looking companies are using AI tools in sustainability work today, but nearly 90% expect to shift most of their process to AI within three years. Reporting budgets are increasing. Manual spreadsheets are being phased out. And in more mature companies, CSOs are stepping into bigger roles, shaping how ESG data informs actual business decisions.

For teams still chasing templates and formatting spreadsheets, the shift will only get harder to catch up with. At beSirius, we support the most advanced teams in reducing manual work and delivering the analytics needed to refocus on strategy and decision-making.

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REGULATORY UPDATES

The rollback season

In 2023–2024, we were overwhelmed by the amount of new EU green regulations. Now it’s the cancellations that just won't stop.

Key revisions:

• EU Batteries Regulation: On 21 May, the Commission proposed two key changes to the Batteries Regulation. First, the deadline for battery raw material due diligence (covering cobalt, lithium, graphite, and nickel) would be delayed by two years, from August 2025 to August 2027, due to lack of readiness among Member States to approve verification bodies. Second, a new category of "small mid-caps" would be introduced, exempting companies below €150 million turnover from due diligence obligations. Reporting frequency would also drop from annual to once every three years. Other obligations, including labelling and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), remain unaffected. EU guidelines on EUBR due diligence are now expected in July 2026.
• ‍CSDDD: The Council is weighing a proposal to increase the threshold to 5,000 employees and EUR 1.5B turnover for inclusion of companies in scope. Transition plans could be delayed to 2030, and due diligence obligations softened from "best efforts" to "reasonable efforts." The Polish Presidency is rushing the file before Denmark takes over on 1 July, while Denmark has already pushed back against weakening the directive. If adopted in current form, this would exclude the vast majority of EU companies from CSDDD.
• EUDR: 11 Member States, led by Austria and Luxembourg, propose exempting very low-risk countries from traceability requirements and custom checks, and delaying enforcement timelines. The group argues the regulation imposes unrealistic demands on farmers and foresters. The list of signatories includes Italy, Finland, Portugal, and others, signalling broad pushback.
• Green Claims Directive likely withdrawn: The Commission plans to withdraw its anti-greenwashing law after pressure from conservative lawmakers. The proposal was meant to set minimum requirements for how companies substantiate claims like "carbon neutral" or "made from recycled materials." The justification for withdrawal is the administrative burden. It still needs formal approval, but if confirmed, it will leave companies without clarity on what counts as a substantiated green claim.

The recurring theme: administrative burden for businesses. One is left asking how Member States missed this crucial factor when approving the regulations a few years ago 🤷🏽♀️.

Omnibus might be found unlawful

While everyone was surprised by how fast the Omnibus simplification package moved, it turns out that the speed may have skipped a few legal steps. The Commission rushed it through without an impact assessment, and lawyers are now warning that parts of it could be challenged in court for violating EU law. If that happens, businesses may face years of legal uncertainty: a far worse outcome than regulation overload. Institutional predictability is critical for investment and strategy. And for once, having too many rules with clear scope might be better than not knowing which ones apply.

CBAM UPDATE

50-tonne exemption clears 90% of importers

Parliament and Council agreed to introduce a de minimis threshold of 50 tonnes per importer per year. This replaces the previous exemption for low-value goods and effectively exempts 90% of importers by volume, mostly SMEs and individuals. Climate coverage remains intact, with 99% of emissions from iron, steel, aluminium and cement imports still covered. The package also includes simplifications of the authorisation process, the calculation of emissions and verification rules, as well as anti-abuse safeguards. The agreed text will now need to be formally adopted by both institutions, with the formal adoption process to be finalised by September 2025.

LME enforces emissions reporting from June 2025

Starting 15 June 2025, all aluminium brands listed on the London Metal Exchange will be required to report emissions data in line with EU CBAM rules. Submissions will go through LMEpassport, with no changes to Certificates of Analysis. Public disclosure remains optional with the voluntary IAI-aligned reporting, but verification becomes mandatory by April 2027. The LME may expand the rules as global carbon border regimes develop.

‍S&P CSA SUCCESS GUIDE: FOCUS EFFORT & MAXIMISE THE SCORE

Our in-house experts put together a focused guide for industry teams to make S&P Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) submissions faster, more structured, and easier to repurpose across ratings, disclosures, and investor requests. It breaks down how scoring works, what’s changed this year, and where to focus effort. Built for sustainability teams who don’t have time to decode the full methodology, but want to avoid low-impact answers and get most out of the data they already report.

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MEME OF THE MONTH

Just when you thought this edition got too serious. Here’s something we can all agree on: the unifying power of the CSR cringe. View the full LinkedIn post here.

[be]SIRIUS NEWS

AI for Green Steel

Galina Donnik, beSirus Chief Impact Officer, is featured on the cover of the June edition of Green Steel Magazine, exploring how AI supports ESG reporting in the steel industry. The article shares how our Sustainability Twin™ helps teams cut manual work, respond faster, and turn stakeholder requests into strategic action.

📓 Read here.‍

beSirius x On the Rocks: from reporting burden to business driver

I joined Emily King’s On the Rocks podcast to discuss how mining companies can stop treating sustainability as a reporting burden, and start using it to drive margins, pricing, and strategy. We covered what’s broken in ESG approaches today, how AI can take over 70% of the most unpleasant work, and how to make sustainability teams more connected to the business.

🎧 Tune in here.