Focus on: The European Taxonomy
The Taxonomy objectives are twofold: to encourage economic players to identify their positioning in relation to the EU's sustainable transition trajectory, in order to enable financial players to prioritise the allocation of funding to projects and assets recognised as the most supportive of this trajectory.
To this end, the regulation creates a classification (Taxonomy) of economic activities according to their potential contributions to the EU's six environmental objectives (hence the common name of "green Taxonomy").
- Climate change mitigation
- Climate change adaptation
- Sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources
- Transition to a circular economy
- Pollution prevention and control
- Protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems
The requirement then directs companies to identify the activities in their portfolio that meet specific technical criteria and indicate the share they represent in their overall activity. Implementing the Taxonomy therefore requires:
- Analysing the position of compagnies activities in relation to the standard
- Publishing information on the process and results of this analysis
Who is concerned?
The scope of companies targeted by the Taxonomy is currently the same as that of the NFRD. As a result, when the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) succeeds the NFRD in 2024, this scope will apply to the following:
- All companies listed on a European market (including non-European companies and SMEs but excluding micro-enterprises with less than 10 employees)
- All large unlisted companies: defined as meeting two of the three following criteria: more than 250 employees, €20m balance sheet or €40m turnover.
