Non-financial reporting standards - what's new?
International Sustainable Finance Centre (ISFC)
Apolitical, expertise-led think tank with an advisory practice focused on #sustainablefinance in finance and business
Usability of the EU Taxonomy & minimum safeguards
On 11 October, the Platform on Sustainable Finance - the European Commission 's expert group and advisory body on sustainable finance policies - issued two reports.
1) The first report, on Data and usability of the EU Taxonomy , was published by the usability and data subgroup, focused on the development of reporting standards. It identified key challenges within the differing definitions of sustainable investment, DNSH (do no significant harm), good governance, and others; interpretive issues on what needs to be reported by who and when; existing data gaps and regulatory overload. It should better clarify the challenges faced in implementation by all Taxonomy users.
2) The second report explores the range of minimum safeguards and their application for companies, investors and auditors, ensuring that Taxonomy-aligned environmentally sustainable activities do not violate social norms, including human rights and labour rights - "to prevent green investments from being labelled and regarded as ‘sustainable’ when they involve negative impacts on human rights including labour rights, corrupt practices, ... tax laws or anti-competitive practices".
Similarly, on human rights, the European Commission issued a proposal to ban products made with forced labor from EU markets. Value chain risk assessments would be reviewed by appointed authorities.
Masterclass on Sustainability presentation
Recent research shows that businesses with established ESG systems that integrate ESG factors material to their sector and operations outperform their counterparts. How can non-financial reporting requirements boost the performance of companies? What aspects are needed to be considered for ESRS, CSDD, CSRD, NFRD, and in general, ESG?
The exclusive material from Masterclass on Sustainability , held under the premises of the European Risk FORUM in October 2022, organised by FERMA | Federation of European Risk Management Associations , was presented by the brilliant experts Philippe Noirot , AMRAE - Management des Risques et des Assurances de l'Entreprise & FERMA, Jean-Christophe Nicaise Chateau , European Commission, Lise M?ller Frikke , SAP and Linda Zeilina-Cross , ISFC.
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In the news
Intensified efforts to meet SDGs: The G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' issued a statement on climate issues reaffirming their aim to support the green transition.
Climate Disaster Will Collapse Major Currencies: Barclays Plc analysts have published research findings according to which, in the most extreme case, they predict the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen could drop by more than 50% by 2070 because of the economic toll stemming from rising sea levels, air pollution and crop failure.
Double materiality and climate risks: A recently published policy brief from SUERF Secretariat explores the importance of the double materiality of climate physical and transition risks - on decreasing stranded assets and the role of timely climate policies as a signal to investors.
Digitalisation and access to data: European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued the 2023 Annual Work Programme setting out their priorities for the upcoming period and their sustainable finance roadmap.
ECB & More gender-diverse boards: ECB has published a paper that looks at the evidence from euro area credit register data, which shows that more gender diverse boards lend less to more environmentally harmful companies.
Greenwashing tips: "How to greenwash like a pro " - the title says it all. A fun article published by Joel Makower on how to recognise usual greenwashing practices.
The jungle of ESG ratings: BSR lists 5 recommendations for businesses on how to interpret ESG ratings and how to use them to improve environmental practices.
Guideline for climate-related disclosures: Principles for Responsible Investment published a comparison of climate disclosure requirements for portfolio companies subject to such reports.
Harmful ESG pledges: What are the weaknesses of sustainability-linked bonds ? Read more in the article from Priscila Azevedo Rocha , Akshat Rathi and Todd Gillespie on Bloomberg News .
Europeans on climate: Only 46% of Europeans are confident that climate goals will benefit everyone, including poorer people. Eurobarometer′s survey explores European opinions on climate goals.
领英推荐
Recipes for impact investing: 8 families share their real-life cases on how impact investing can be implemented and refined, published by Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth , University of Zurich and The ImPact.
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CEE in the news
CEE on the road to COP26: the following article from Claudia Patricolo summarises the CEE region's efforts towards climate neutrality . The challenge is significant, as the Central European countries are still largely dependent on fossil fuels.
Czechia: European Investment Bank (EIB) is celebrating three decades in Czechia. Andrea Ferjencikova , EIB Group Representative in the Czechia, wrote a summary on EIB investments in the Czech economy and the Czech EU Presidency priorities.
The Czech Railways ( ?eské dráhy, a.s. ) issued its first-ever green bond for 500 million EUR. The amount will be invested into the purchase of new trains and to pay off earlier debts. Similarly, the digital platform to connect consumers of sustainable energy solutions received a significant financial boost. Woltair , a Prague-based climate tech startup , has raised EUR 16.3 million with the help of venture capital funds.
Slovakia: Slovak banks provided their first environmental syndicated loan for a state-owned company , MH Teplárenksy holding. The loan is aimed to finance the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the production of heat and hot water. With the aim to decarbonise, EU funds were received by steel producer US Steel as well.
Romania: State-run power grid operator Transelectrica received EUR 420 million from the EU Modernisation Fund to upgrade energy infrastructure and install more renewable energy projects .
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Events
Online: Will the concept of ESG adapt and survive? Check out a recent ESG Panel organised by Financial Times ,
Slovakia: The CSR Summit 2022 is approaching. 27 October, the Business Leaders Forum and Nadácia Pontis / Pontis Foundation will hold Slovakia's largest conference on corporate social responsibility.
United Kingdom: This week, Climate Bonds Initiative hosts its annual conference in London. Speakers include Helena Vi?es Fiestas , Kingsmill Bond , Ingrid Holmes , and many others, including the founder of Climate Bonds Initiative, Sean Kidney .
United Kingdom: Next week, on 26 and 27 October, Thomson Reuters Foundation will hold its annual Trust Conference . The event will see the world's leading experts and thought leaders discuss human rights, responsible business, and inclusive economies.
Online: On 27 October, the Joint Research Centre organises its launch event on the Sustainable Finance Research Forum , with keynote speeches from Sébastien de Brouwer , prof. Robert F. Engle,?and European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness .
Hungary: The Green Policy Center and FinnAgora – Finnish Institute in Hungary will hold a seminar on 3rd November, discussing the possibilities of sustainable energy solutions in Finland and Hungary .
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Recommended books and podcasts
Crime scenes and destruction: Jakob Thom? , CEO of 2° Investing Initiative , has recently published a book in which he investigates the deadly consequences of our carbon footprint, waste, working conditions and mass consumption. Der Kill-Score , which explores scientific methods and ethics of sustainability, is available in German.
Innovation in the CEE region: Innovation is of growing importance, yet the CEE region often lags behind in innovative start-ups or technology. How could we improve the CEE innovation ecosystem ? Listen to this inspirational discussion with Senta Cermakova , Michal Ko?ina , Markus Raunig , Marian Gazdik , Jan Burian and Andrew Gray from the CEE Sustainable Finance Summit in ISFC′s newest episode on Sustainability in Finance .