The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) proposal stipulates that EFRAG should be responsible for carrying out a due process to draft, consult and deliver EU sustainability standards for adoption by the European Commission. On 1 March, the EFRAG General Assembly appointed the members of the EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board, which will be responsible for all sustainability reporting positions of EFRAG, including technical advice to the European Commission on draft EU Sustainability Reporting Standards and related amendments.
The Board is composed of European stakeholders, national organisations, and civil society. Filip Gregor, Head of the Responsible Companies Section at Frank Bold, has been appointed as one of the two NGO representatives of the EFRAG Civil Society Chapter, alongside another member of the Alliance for Corporate Transparency, David Vermijs from Shift. Joanne Houston, EU Policy Officer at Frank Bold, has been selected to be part of the Technical Expert Group recently announced.
Filip Gregor’s engagement builds on his current participation in the secretariat of Project Task Force on European sustainability reporting standards. As EFRAG progresses towards the establishment of its permanent sustainability reporting pillar alongside its existing financial one, Filip’s work on EU standards will continue as a member of the newly formed Sustainability Reporting Board, contributing to the continuity of EFRAG’s standard-setting work.
The EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board does not rely solely on broad stakeholder representation; it also ensures the adoption of well-informed positions. The EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board will take decisions after having considered the advice of the Sustainability Reporting Technical Expert Group (TEG) of EFRAG and the results of EFRAG’s due process. The EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board together with the EFRAG Financial Reporting Board will work to ensure connectivity between financial and sustainability reporting.
All of EFRAG’s draft and final sustainability reporting due process documents will be issued under the EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board’s authority.
In response to demands from investors and companies, the European Commission presented a proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) in February 2022. The Directive is also a response to France, Germany and Norway adopting legislation on due diligence and attempts to harmonize and introduce one European standard of responsible business conduct.
After several months of delay, today, the European Commission presented its proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive in Brussels. The main objective of this new legislation is to integrate into European law international standards such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights - adopted globally over a decade ago - and standards developed and approved by the OECD.
What is the content of sustainability due diligence standards, how can companies effectively implement due diligence, and what challenges and benefits does it bring to businesses? These and other questions were answered by speakers at the webinar organised by Frank Bold.
