The asset management industry recognises the much-needed adoption of mandatory European sustainability reporting standards under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) proposal. Insufficient availability of meaningful, comparable, reliable, and public Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data is a key impediment to realising the full potential of the EU's sustainable finance regulatory framework. Financial market participants' sustainable investments need to be driven by real, verifiable and reported ESG metrics of company's activities and financial risks.
Sustainability reporting (NFRD/CSRD)
To integrate ESG consideration into investment decisions, asset managers need reliable, comparable and standardised information on how companies perform against pre-defined sustainability criteria. At the same time, asset managers require better ESG company data for their own compliance with reporting obligations under the Taxonomy and SFDR.
EFAMA advocates expanding the scope of entities and adopting mandatory EU sustainability reporting standards under proposed Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Sustainability information disclosed under CSRD should be subsequently centralised in a publicly-accessible European Single Access Point. At the same time, the EU should encourage developments towards a harmonized global sustainability disclosures ecosystem. To ensure consistency, transparency and accountability, we also advocate for the development of a European regulatory framework for providers of sustainability data, research and ratings.
Position on the scope of CSRD and the interplay with SFDR
IFRS consultation on sustainability reporting
EFAMA shares the urgent need to improve the consistency and comparability of sustainability reporting at a global level. We believe this is a crucial enabling factor to the success of the global efforts to mainstream sustainability in the financial sector. A global set of internationally recognised sustainability reporting standards would help establish an effective chain of information from corporates to the benefit of investors.
Joint statement on the revision of the NFRD in the context of Covid-19
Joint industry letter on corporate sustainability reporting
EFAMA has joined together with the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) and over 90 investors and financial market participants, to call on the European Commission to uphold the integrity and ambition of the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).
Ensuring alignment between the Disclosure Requirements of Investee Companies and the Sustainable Finance Obligations
The draft ESRS Delegated Act presents several potential implications for investors and entails major inconsistencies across the Sustainable Finance legislative framework. In our policy paper we focus on the alignment of ESG reporting on two crucial areas: (1) the requirements of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), notably the Principal Adverse Impact indicators (PAIs), and (2) the Transition Plans and targets.
Reducing mandatory requirements for corporate ESG reporting would deprive asset managers of data needed for sustainable investment disclosures
EFAMA today has released its position paper and joined together with the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) and over 90 investors and financial market participants, to call on the European Commission to uphold the integrity and ambition of the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).
Market Insights | Issue #4 | ESG investing in the UCITS market: a powerful and inexorable trend
The report looks at the major trends in the ESG UCITS market, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and the behaviour of ESG and non-ESG funds.
3 questions to Thierry Bogaty on the EU Ecolabel for retail financial products
Q #1 Can the EU Ecolabel for retail financial products help channel individual investors’ savings into environmentally sustainable projects?
A well-designed EU Ecolabel has the potential to provide clear guidance on the financial products retail investors can invest in if they wish to support environmentally sustainable projects and activities - in line with the EU Taxonomy Regulation. The European Commission wants to create a trusted and verified label for retail investors, who would benefit from better comparability of financial products.