Insights into climate indicators for companies: What to report under European sustainability reporting standards

December 2021 Issue

This year is and will be key for future climate policy and especially for sustainable finance in Germany and Europe. Sustainable finance plays a crucial role in improving climate protection and sustainable growth. To this end, Germanwatch joined forces with the Alliance for Corporate Transparency in order to push towards greater corporate responsibility and disclosure requirements to meet the EU and Paris climate targets.

This is the seventh article of our briefing series “Full Disclosure: Monthly Briefing on EU Corporate Transparency Regulation”, in which we aim to shed light on the need for and benefits of forward-looking reporting requirements in a changing EU regulatory environment.

About this issue:

Last April, the European Commission published a new draft of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which is intended to provide companies with clarity on what and how they need to report and reduce administrative burden. The goal is to remove barriers and to leverage financing the transformation to climate neutrality. The coalition agreement of the new German government also takes up the CSRD as an important milestone.

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has been tasked with the detailed drafting, consultation and submission of the standards proposed under the new CSRD. Last September 2021, EFRAG published a working paper with so-called “prototype climate standards”, which provides a first insight into the future European reporting standards for companies.

This article provides a brief overview of the ongoing processes around the CSRD and the standard-setting and then takes a first summarizing look at the new European corporate reporting standards.

August Issue: Sustainability due diligence – what it means for companies and how EU sustainability standards can help

July Issue: (Financial) Opportunities of European sustainability reporting rules for small businesses

June Issue: Climate transition plans: How EU standards can help companies to focus on the right data

May Issue: The EU Sustainable Finance April package and how EU sustainability reporting standards fit in

April Issue: What needs to be reported on sustainability-related governance?

March Issue: Reform of the EU Non-financial Reporting Directive: A Push Towards Future-proof Reporting Obligations