ESRS E5

Anyone who reports under the CSRD and classifies resource use as a material topic must disclose which materials flow into the company and what leaves it again, as a product or as waste. Retired IT hardware belongs precisely to these outflows. This glossary entry explains what the ESRS E5 standard requires, which disclosures affect IT hardware and what evidence you need for them. As of: 10/2026.

What is ESRS E5?

The ESRS are the standards under which companies prepare their sustainability report under the CSRD . They are divided into cross-cutting standards and topical standards for environment (E), social (S) and governance (G). E5 is the fifth environmental standard and deals with resource use and Circular economy.

Only what is material after the double materiality assessment is reported. The company examines two perspectives: what impacts does it have on the environment and people, and what financial risks and opportunities arise for the company itself? If resource use is material, the disclosure requirements of ESRS E5 apply. An overview of the entire set of rules is given in the entry ESRS.

What does ESRS E5 require? (as of: 10/2026)

The EU Commission issued the first version of the ESRS in 2023 as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772. In it, E5 consists of six disclosure requirements:

Disclosure requirement	Contents	Relation to IT hardware
E5-1 Policies	Policies on resource use and circular economy	Requirements for procurement, useful life and retirement
E5-2 Actions and resources	Implemented and planned actions	Longer use, repair, resale instead of disposal
E5-3 Targets	Measurable targets	e.g. share of reused devices
E5-4 Resource inflows	Weight of products and materials used, share of secondary materials	Devices procured, share of refurbished hardware
E5-5 Resource outflows	Products and materials as well as waste by type and recovery route	Retired devices: reuse, recycling, disposal
E5-6 Financial effects	Expected financial effects of risks and opportunities	e.g. raw material prices, proceeds from resale

For waste, E5-5 requires, among other things, the total quantity, broken down into hazardous and non-hazardous waste. It must also be stated how much waste was diverted from disposal, through preparation for reuse, recycling or other recovery, and how much was disposed of.

As of: 10/2026. The set of rules is in upheaval. With the Omnibus Directive (EU) 2026/470, the EU has greatly reduced the group of companies subject to reporting. On July 3, 2026, the EU Commission adopted a delegated regulation with revised, significantly slimmed-down ESRS. The topic of resource use and circular economy remains in it, individual data points change. Always check the version applicable to your financial year for your report. This entry does not replace legal or audit advice.

Meaning for IT hardware

For many companies, IT hardware is not a large mass flow, but a well controllable one. Devices have a serial number, a clear life cycle and, at the end, several possible routes. It is precisely these routes that E5 captures.

The statutory Waste hierarchy under § 6 KrWG sets the order of priority: prevention before preparation for reuse, before recycling, before other recovery, before disposal. A laptop that is resold after erasure and refurbishment leaves the company as a product and does not become waste. A defective device goes into recycling as waste electrical equipment. Both routes should be distinguishable in the report.

The distinction from emissions is important: the greenhouse gas balance of IT hardware belongs to ESRS E1 and to Scope 3. How the two are connected is explained in our guide Scope 3 emissions of IT hardware and CSRD.

What evidence you need for retired IT

• Quantity framework: Number and weight of retired devices, ideally from an inventory list with serial numbers.
• Recovery route per device or batch: Reuse (resale after refurbishment), recycling or disposal.
• Waste-law evidence: Disposal certificates from a certified waste management company with waste type and quantity.
• Data protection evidence: Erasure and destruction certificates. They prove that the reuse was compliant with data protection.
• Consistency: The figures must match the report and be verifiable, because the sustainability report is subject to external assurance.

Example: retirement in the reporting year

A simplified example without real customer data: A company subject to reporting replaces 1,000 laptops and 400 monitors in the financial year.

1. IT hands the device list with serial numbers to the service provider.
2. After erasure and testing, working devices are refurbished and resold. Defective devices and parts go into recycling.
3. The service provider supplies an erasure certificate per device and a report on which devices were reused and which were recycled, with disposal certificates for the recycled quantity.
4. The sustainability team takes over unit numbers, weights and recovery routes into the disclosures on resource outflows and documents the evidence for the audit.

Without this evidence, the report would be left with only an estimate, and estimates are hard to defend in an audit.

ESRS E5 at Second IT

Second IT follows the principle of reuse before recycling. Devices are erased with certification, tested, repaired and refurbished and then remarketed. What cannot be reused, Second IT disposes of as a certified waste management company under § 56 KrWG. Customers receive recycling and disposal certificates for their CSR and ESG reporting, a digitally signed erasure certificate per device and an annual, individual environmental balance. Audit reports are available in the customer portal. More on proper disposal with documentation.

Distinction from related terms

ESRS denotes the entire standard set, E5 is a part of it. The CSRD is the EU directive that determines who has to report. The EU Taxonomy classifies economic activities as sustainable and is a separate set of rules. The Waste hierarchy comes from waste law and sets the order of priority of the recovery routes that E5 reports on.

Frequently asked questions about ESRS E5

Does every company subject to the CSRD have to report on ESRS E5?

No. E5 is only reported on if resource use and circular economy are material according to the double materiality assessment. The result of the assessment must, however, be documented in a traceable way.

Does resold IT hardware count as waste?

Not if the devices continue to be used as a product. They then belong to the product outflows. Devices that the owner discards count as waste, for example defective devices that go into recycling. How to draw the distinction in an individual case should be clarified with your experts in waste law and reporting.

What evidence does the auditor need for retired IT?

Typical are a device list, evidence of the recovery route, disposal certificates for recycled quantities and erasure or destruction certificates. What matters is that quantities and weights from the evidence match the figures in the report.

Does ESRS E5 still apply after the EU Omnibus?

Yes, the topic remains part of the revised ESRS (as of: 10/2026). The number of data points has been reduced, and significantly fewer companies are subject to reporting. Check the version applicable to your financial year.

What is the difference between the CSRD and ESRS E5?

The CSRD is the EU directive that determines which companies have to report. The ESRS are the standards according to which the report is structured. ESRS E5 is a topical standard within them and deals with resource use and circular economy.