Yes, for covered companies: the sustainability statement must be verified by an independent third party, in France a statutory auditor or an accredited independent third-party body. The required level is limited assurance, as the Omnibus Directive, which entered into force on 18 March 2026, removed the planned progression to reasonable assurance. Verification covers, among other things, conformity with the ESRS and the reliability of published data, including greenhouse gas emissions. The voluntary VSME standard used by SMEs outside scope requires no third-party verification.
Read the source article: CSRD: who is in scope after Omnibus? The 2026 SME guide