Net Zero Compare
Revised Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive (IED 2.0)

Revised Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive (IED 2.0): Modernizing EU Pollution Control for Industry and Farming

Onye Dike
Onye Dike
Updated on October 18th, 2025
4 min read
Published Oct 16, 25

Summary

The EU’s revised Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive (IED 2.0), in force since August 2024, expands pollution-control rules to more sectors and livestock farms. It strengthens monitoring, emissions reporting, and introduces mandatory environmental management systems from 2027. Member States must transpose the directive by mid-2026, with the Commission preparing supporting guidance.
Our principle

Cut through the green tape

We don't push agendas. At Net Zero Compare, we cut through the hype and fear to deliver the straightforward facts you need for making informed decisions on green products and services. Whether motivated by compliance, customer demands, or a real passion for the environment, you’re welcome here. We provide reliable information. Why you seek it is not our concern.

Details

Jurisdictions
  • European Union
Mandatory for

IED 2.0 applies to:

  • Large industrial installations, e.g., energy industries; metal, mineral, chemical production; waste management.
  • Intensive pig and poultry farms.
Exempted entities
  • Small and medium-sized pig and poultry farms.
  • Organic pig farming.

Deep dive

Background

The EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) has governed pollution from Europe’s largest industrial and agro-industrial installations since 2010 (Directive 2010/75/EU). In 2024, the EU adopted a major recast, Directive (EU) 2024/1785 (“IED 2.0”), to modernise the regime and extend certain rules to intensive livestock rearing (pigs and poultry). IED 2.0 rests on TFEU Article 192(1) and sits alongside the new Industrial Emissions Portal Regulation (IEPR). Day-to-day implementation remains with national competent authorities (permitting, inspection and enforcement), while the European Commission (DG Environment) steers secondary legislation and the European Environment Agency (EEA) will operate the Industrial Emissions Portal. IED 2.0 consolidates and updates earlier EU instruments recast into the 2010 IED (e.g., Large Combustion Plants, Waste Incineration, VOC Solvents directives). Strategically, it advances the European Green Deal’s Zero-Pollution agenda, complements EU climate policy (e.g., ETS, Effort Sharing, LULUCF) and requires transformation plans guiding installations toward a climate-neutral, circular economy by 2050.

Emissions & Environmental Reporting Requirements

Affected facilities must measure their emissions and other relevant environmental indicators in line with the best available techniques (BAT conditions) laid down for their activity and submit results at least annually to their competent authority. Monitoring must use CEN standards (or ISO/other equivalent standards) to ensure data quality. Beyond stack emissions, sites handling hazardous substances must periodically check the condition of soil and groundwater to detect contamination early; under the revised rules this must occur at least every four years for groundwater and every nine years for soil (unless a risk-based appraisal justifies a different frequency). As detailed in Article 14a of IED 2.0, every facility must run an environmental management system (EMS) containing, among other elements, clear goals and performance measures related to the most important environmental impacts of the installation. Those goals and indicators should reflect the benchmarks set out in the applicable best available techniques. The amount of detail to be included in the EMS should be proportionate to the scale, complexity, and ecological significance of the installation. Every in-scope facility must have an EMS in place by 1 July 2027.

Penalties for Non-compliance

As stated in Article 79 of IED 2.0, EU Member States must maintain effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for infringements of national IED provisions. IED 2.0 harmonizes baseline expectations and strengthens enforcement tools: for the worst infringements, competent authorities must be able to impose fines of at least 3% of the legal person’s annual EU turnover and may suspend operations of non-compliant installations. The revision also includes a right to seek compensation for health damage caused by illegal pollution, increasing accountability around reporting, permitting and compliance.

Current Status

IED 2.0 entered into force on 4 August 2024. EU countries must transpose the directive into their national laws by 1 July 2026. The new requirements will then take effect in stages: for example, environmental management systems (EMSs) must be in place and audited for the first time by 1 July 2027, with follow-up audits every three years. By 30 June 2026, the European Commission will define the content and format of the transformation plans that form part of each EMS, along with other implementing and delegated acts to standardize methods and reporting formats. The revised directive also broadens its scope to cover additional sectors such as metal mining and large-scale battery production and extends the livestock rules to pig and poultry farms under simplified procedures. National authorities remain responsible for day-to-day approvals, inspections and enforcement, while the Commission, following adoption by the Council and Parliament in April 2024, is now preparing detailed guidance to ensure consistent application across the EU.

Resources

Onye Dike
Written by:
Onye Dike
Sustainability Research Analyst
Onye Dike is a Sustainability Research Analyst at Net Zero Compare, where he contributes to research and analysis on environmental regulations, carbon accounting, and emerging sustainability trends.