The rise of corporate sustainability is strongly driven by regulations. With the growing body of sustainability-related laws and regulations, there is a surmounting pressure on the corporations to implement and report on their sustainability achievements. In addition, the corporations are often forced to react quickly causing the question of how comprehensive the sustainability strategies can be. This article aims to examine a new sustainability reporting regulation introduction by analyzing the case of Latvian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in 2022. By surveying 21 SOEs exposed to a swift adaptation of sustainability reporting requirements, the study captures the results, challenges, and obstacles as experienced by the corporations. The results of the study highlight the importance of gradual preparation, significant resource devotion and strategic management focus necessary to ensure meaningful sustainability process introduction and ESG reporting. In the case of non-unified reporting standards coupled with reporting obligations, SOEs face a risk of selective disclosure practices – a common form of greenwashing.