The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) has so far only been partially transposed into the Czech legislative framework by the adoption of a broader legislative package named Act no. 349/2023 (Zákon č. 349/2023 Sb.), which was passed on 8 November 2023 and came into effect on 1 January 2024. This Act amends multiple laws to implement the reporting requirements of the EU directive. Most notably, it amends the Accounting Act (Zákon č. 563/1991 Sb.) to require the entities concerned by the scope of the directive to issue ESG reporting, specifying that ESG reporting (which should, apart from ESG matters, also include human rights matters, employment matters and anti-corruption measures) should be published as a separate section of annual reporting. The Act amendment details the specific requirements for the contents of ESG reports.

However, the amendment of the Accounting Act so far only encompasses the largest entities (with more than 500 employees), which are now obliged to issue reporting for the fiscal year of 2024. The legislative process to amend the Accounting Act to extend reporting obligations to small and medium-sized entities is currently still ongoing, and the amendment is expected to come into effect on 1 January 2026. However, the Omnibus package, currently still in the works, postpones ESG reporting obligations for some entities (including Wave 2 large companies), which may still become reflected in the ongoing legislative processes. Therefore, Wave 2 companies will only be obliged to publish ESG reporting from 2028 instead of 2026, and the criteria for which companies are to be included in the Wave 2 definition have also been amended. As such, only the largest Czech companies will remain legally obliged to publish their ESG reports for 2024 during the year of 2025.

Moreover, Act 349/2023 also further integrates CSRD provisions by minor legal amendments to two other legal frameworks – the Auditors Act (Zákon č. 93/2009 Sb.) and the Capital Market Business Act (Zákon č. 256/2004 Sb.). The Auditors Act amendment stipulates the auditing measures to verify that published ESG reporting is in line with the Accounting Act requirements.

As of May 2025, the legislative process to implement the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) has not yet begun in the Czech Republic, and no information regarding the Czech legislative process can be found in official sources. Member States, including the Czech Republic, originally had until July 2026 to transpose the directive into national legislation, with implementation commencing from 2027. However, with the Omnibus package currently still under discussion, the time limit to transpose the directive into the national legal framework is extended by one year to July 2027, with the implementation phase as well extended until mid-2028.

The EU Whistleblower Protection Directive was implemented into the Czech legal system by the adoption of the Whistleblower Protection Act (Zákon č. 171/2023 Sb.), which came into effect in August 2023. As the Czech Republic missed the original implementation deadline in December 2021, the European Commission commenced infringement proceedings in 2022.

The subsequent speedy approval process which took place in 2023 was accompanied by controversies and criticisms of the draft of the Whistleblower Protection Act received from the general public as well as experts. Transparency International critiqued the act for alleged inadequacy and lack of quality in some of its provisions. The criticisms also included the lack of sufficient protections for anonymous complaints and complaints involving damages lower than 100,000 CZK, which were not taken into account in the draft. The approval of the Act mandated employers to establish internal whistleblower and complaints mechanisms during 2023, however without provisions guaranteeing full anonymity for the whistleblower, which was not passed as part of the final Act that entered into force.

The lack of the anonymity protection provision therefore remains widely seen as a shortcoming of the national law, together with a lack of concrete tools to assist whistleblowers with the proceedings in their cases. However, in the overall analysis of national implementations of the Directive conducted by Transparency International, the Czech version was also evaluated rather positively, particularly praising the wide range of complaints mechanisms as well as the complex sanctions system stipulated by the law. Despite the shortcomings cited earlier, TI nevertheless noted the importance of the existence of the Whistleblower Protection Act in national law and the difference it already made in anti-corruption cases during 2024. 

The transposition of the EU Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions in Czech legislation was completed in September 2023, with a slight delay beyond the original deadline, when the finalised Regulation 218/2023 (Předpis 281/2023 Sb.) was published, effective from October 2023. This legislative regulation amends the Labour Code (Zákon č. 262/2006 Sb.) and other related laws, integrating the provisions of Directive 2019/1152 into the Czech legal framework; even though little information is available otherwise with regard to the Directive implementation. The official governmental explanatory memorandum accompanying the draft of Regulation 218/2023 noted that the government aimed for a speedy approval process due to the lapse of the deadline and the subsequent initiation of infringement proceedings against the Czech Republic by the European Commission.

The EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages was adopted into Czech law by updating the Czech Labour Code (Zákon č. 262/2006 Sb.) through the passing of Act 230/2024 (Zákon č. 230/2024 Sb.), which came into effect in August 2024. The official governmental explanatory memorandum clarifies that the implementation of the Directive into Czech law strengthens collective bargaining provisions, addresses the obligations of the Czech Republic to issue progress reports to the Commission, as well as changes the calculation mechanisms of the national minimum wage. The updated Act puts into place a transparent calculation mechanism for a structured growth of the minimum wage, which is now clearly tied to socio-economic indicators.

The revised EU Posted Workers Directive was implemented into Czech law by updating the Labour Code (Zákon č. 262/2006 Sb.) through the passing of Act 285/2020 (Zákon č. 285/2020 Sb.), which came into effect in July 2020. The government’s official explanatory memorandum indicates some of the major changes to rules for posted workers that were implemented into Czech law, e.g. differentiating posted workers’ rights in the receiving state (Czech Republic) based on the length of their posting, clarifying the conditions for workers posted by employment agencies, and expanding remuneration and work-related travel reimbursement rules. The law therefore ensures that posted workers are entitled to at least the legal minimum of employee remuneration and benefits legally required in the Czech Republic. Moreover, it also includes clear rules for employers and employment agencies on compulsory information provision to Czech authorities regarding posted workers.

The currently valid energy efficiency regulations on the national level are encompassed in the Energy Management Act (Zákon č. 406/2000 Sb.), which has been periodically updated throughout the years in line with new EU regulations, such as the EU Energy Efficiency Directive, coming into effect. The latest amendment took place in 2020 and Czech legislation is currently in line with EU requirements on energy performance of buildings, where the Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible for keeping abreast of EU energy efficiency developments and their implementation.

The 2024 revision of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is yet to be implemented into Czech law. However, the directive has already been partially implemented by Declaration 222/2024 (Vyhláška č. 222/2024 Sb.), valid from September 2024, which implements its technical aspects, namely the methodology for building energy performance calculation and its classification within the Czech building energy certification system (PENB). Separately, in 2024 the Ministry of Industry and Trade began forming expert working groups in order to commence the comprehensive implementation of the updated EPBD directly into the Energy Management Act (as it cannot be implemented into Czech law by Declaration only), in order to meet the 2026 implementation deadline. However, as of yet, no concrete legislative draft of the updated Energy Management Act has been presented to the Parliament for approval.

According to the requirements of the fourth version of the EPBD, Czechia needs to update the Long-Term Renovation Strategy (LTRS) developed under the previous EPBD by preparing a draft National Building Renovation Plan (NBRP) by 31 December 2025 and a final version by 31 December 2026. This has not yet been done.

Earlier, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre assessed the Czech LTRS's ambition level as low and the plan as conservative, since the plan would only bring 9% energy savings in 2030 and 23.5% in 2050, which is close to the Business-as-usual scenario, especially given the fact that Czechia has a higher-than-average unitary heat consumption in the building sector.

Czechia transposed the EU Waste Framework Directive into national law via the New Waste Act (No. 541/2020 Coll.), effective 1 January 2021, and the New Act on End-of-life products (No. 542/2020 Coll.), effective 1 January 2021, less than 12 months after the deadline of 5 July 2020.

The construction industry produces two-thirds of the waste in the Czech Republic. The EU Waste Framework Directive is incorporated into the Waste Act, prioritising prevention, reuse, recycling and other material recovery over disposal. The objective of the updated National Waste Management Plan (NWMP) is to maximise waste prevention and reduce waste and the consumption of primary resources. In relation to the construction sector, the NWMP’s objective is to stabilise the production of hazardous waste and construction and demolition waste, as well as to reduce the content of hazardous substances in materials and products. In addition to waste prevention, reuse measures for construction and demolition products are included in the plan.

The Czech Republic has its own national energy efficiency certification for buildings – the Building Energy Performance Certificate (Průkaz energetické náročnosti budovy – PENB). The PENB was introduced by Czech legislation in 2007 (Vyhláška 148/2007 Sb.), based on EU directive 2002/91/ES. Moreover, the obligation to comply with energy performance measures was legislated in 2006 as part of the updated Energy Management Act (Zákon č. 406/2000 Sb.), making the PENB obligatory for most buildings (new buildings, substantial reconstructions, and whenever a building that did not yet have PENB is put on the market for rent or sale) starting January 2009. The certificate awards buildings with an overall energy rating ranging from A (exceptionally efficient) to G (exceptionally inefficient). All new buildings are required to achieve at least rating B (very efficient).

There is a second, lesser-known national building certification – the Building Exterior Energy Efficiency Certificate (Energetický štítek obálky budovy - EŠOB) which specifically deals with the thermal insulation properties of the exterior layer of the building itself, classifying buildings on an A to G scale as well. The EŠOB is not required for buildings that are mostly or partially open and certain industrial buildings with cooling functions. Whereas the PENB focuses on indicating estimated energy consumption needs of the building (heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and water heating), the EŠOB provides detailed information about the quality of the exterior construction and insulation of the building.

Moreover, any private entities whose annual energy consumption exceeds 5,000 MWh are obliged to conduct an Energy Audit (Energetický audit - EA) every 4 years, which aims to assess energy use in buildings and maximise energy savings while minimising emissions. The audit results in a report which not only assesses the current energy management of the building, but also proposes improvement and energy saving possibilities.

The Czech Republic does not have one overall strategy when it comes to decarbonisation of the construction sector, however these priorities are covered in multiple strategic initiatives. For example, the 2030 National Environment Policy (Státní politika životního prostředí České republiky 2030 - SPŽP 2030) covers measures concerning building energy performance optimisation and heating energy saving measures.

The Long-term Building Renovation Strategy (Dlouhodobá strategie renovací budov) covers the possible scenarios for building renovation goals in 2030, 2040 and 2050; however this strategy is set to be replaced by a new National Building Renovation Plan, in light of the latest EPBD reform. When it comes to circularity policies, the Czech Republic adopted the 2040 Circular Czechia Action Plan (Akční plán Cirkulární Česko 2040) covering the 2022-2027 period and focusing on increasing the use of recycled materials in the construction sector. Additionally, the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (Národní akční plán energetické účinnosti – NAPEE), whose latest version dates to 2017, covers energy efficiency improvement measures and expected energy savings concerning most industries, including the construction sector, covering aspects such as building renovation and energy performance improvement, and concerns both the public sector as well as individually owned homes.

Moreover, since 2014 the Czech Republic has also been running a subsidy programme called Green Light to Energy Savings Programme (Program Nová zelená úsporám - NZÚ), aiming to incentivise renovation of privately and individually owned houses and apartment buildings, with the goal to improve the energy performance and/or increase the use of renewable energy sources in existing residential homes. The programme – which was introduced as part of the aforementioned broader NAPEE strategy – has since expanded its reach as well as made the financial aspects even more accessible to the widest range of the population. This programme is run by the Ministry of Environment and the National Environment Fund and funded from varied EU sources.