More than 90 organisations representing civil society, business, banks and investor interests, express deep concern over the misrepresentation of EU sustainability reporting as a threat to competitiveness.
Our joint statement, published on 12 December, is a response to the recent omnibus proposal announcement by EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen.
The Commission has stated that scaling up sustainable finance is a major priority. Achieving that requires access to consistent and reliable information on businesses’ sustainability performance, enabling better transparency and comparability.
Sustainability reporting is a vital tool for businesses, enabling companies to manage risks, identify opportunities, and drive long-term growth. The statement highlights the flexible and proportional nature of the framework and offers practical solutions to address overcompliance challenges.
At a moment where European leaders are seeking to boost competitiveness and attract major financing to support companies’ sustainability transition, the EU sustainability reporting framework plays a key role in protecting the EU market and levelling the playing field with global players.
The statement signatories call on European and national policymakers to focus on supporting a smart and easy implementation of EU sustainability reporting standards, instead of playing ping-pong with the legal framework.
Read the full statement here: Smart implementation of EU sustainability reporting standards: make complying with rules easy
Sustainability reporting experts and NGOs welcome the adoption of the EU sustainability reporting standards (ESRS) by EFRAG submitted this week to the European Commission. Whilst the ambition of the ESRS remains limited in several areas, they represent a major improvement for companies as well as for users of sustainability information and address the biggest problems in quality and reliability of corporate reporting.
We have launched ‘Frankly Speaking’ - a new podcast discussing the latest political, legal, and business developments in the field of ESG, business and human rights, and corporate reporting.
Members of the European Parliament will vote on November 10 to confirm the agreement reached earlier this summer to strengthen companies’ obligations to disclose information on their sustainability risks and impacts, and adopt mandatory EU standards covering Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) matters.
