Here’s what the EU will do to measure the environmental impact of companies. Report Ft
From January, more than 50 thousand companies will have to track the environmental impact of their activities. This is what the new European standard provides
More than 50,000 companies will have to start assessing the impact of their activities on the environment from January, after EU lawmakers overcame right-wing opposition to pave the way for reporting requirements that will also cover multinational companies . The Financial Times writes.
THOSE WHO RESISTED (IN VAIN)
An attempt by a cross-party group of 44 right-wing and liberal MEPs to block the adoption of new sustainability reporting standards has been rejected by more than half of the European Parliament.
The resistance to backtracking on transparency and reporting on green issues comes amid a broader push against environmental, social and governance investments, particularly in the United States but also in Europe.
“Standardised, transparent and comparable data will not only guide companies in their transition, but also inform investors and consumers,” said Tsvetelina Kuzmanova, senior policy advisor at climate think tank E3G.
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING STANDARDS
The sustainability reporting standards are part of broader legal proposals aimed at pushing companies to be more transparent when it comes to their climate impact. They set out exactly the criteria on which companies must report, such as pollution, water use and impact on local communities.
The regulatory framework had already been relaxed at the draft stage to allow companies to communicate their efforts to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement on global warming only if deemed “relevant” to their activities.
The EU has set itself apart from markets like the US by requiring companies to account for the impact of climate change and sustainability issues on their businesses and the impact their operations have on the environment – a concept known as “ double materiality".
WHAT THE RESOLUTION SAYS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF COMPANIES
According to the published resolution, lawmakers who pushed to reject the standards said they place an undue burden on companies because they are “complex and high in quantity.” They also, they said, undermine Brussels' effort to cut red tape, amid fears that environmental legislation is harming the competitiveness of EU companies.
In addition to the 50,000 publicly listed companies that will have to comply starting next year, the scope will extend to large, non-listed companies and small and medium-sized publicly traded companies in 2025 and 2026.
The Commission said it has “worked to ensure a high level of alignment” with other international reporting standards, such as those put forward by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the International Sustainability Standards Board, so that companies do not face requirements very different reporting processes in the various regions.
Eelco van der Enden, chief executive of the GRI, said Wednesday's vote "marks the transition from political debate to practical implementation of these new rules, which represent a game changer for corporate responsibility, in the EU and globally." .
Tiemo Wölken, a German socialist MEP, said that if the standards were rejected companies would be left in limbo over how to apply the new financial reporting rules.
“In practice, companies would have no legal certainty on how to implement the obligations,” he said on Twitter, in his previous version X.
(Extract from the eprcomunicazione press review)
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/50mila-aziende-valutazione-impatto-ambientale-ue/ on Sat, 21 Oct 2023 05:43:40 +0000.