Company: BCS
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000312069-25-000114
Chunk: 499

Company: BARCLAYS PLC
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form: 20-F
Chunk 499
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 UK publicly quoted companies, large private companies and LLPs (in addition to existing TCFD-related reporting requirements under the UK Listing Rules). The UK Government published a consultation in November 2024 seeking views on whether a UK Green Taxonomy would be a useful tool to support investment activities aligned with sustainability ambitions and as a mitigant to greenwashing activity. Regulatory initiatives on ESG in the EU The EU Regulation on Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR) and related Delegated Regulations require financial market participants (FMPs) to disclose how they integrate environmental, social and governance factors in their investment decisions for certain financial products and to publish principal adverse impact statements. The SFDR applies to entities established in the EU and in-scope products marketed in the EU, regardless of the location of the entity. The SFDR is currently under review by the Commission. The European Securities and Markets Authority has also published guidelines for funds in-scope of SFDR regarding the use of ESG- or sustainability-related terms in their names. In addition, the EU Taxonomy Regulation provides for a general framework for the development of an EU-wide classification system for environmentally sustainable economic activities. It sets mandatory entity-level disclosure requirements for companies which fall under the scope of the EU Accounting Directive, in relation to eligibility and alignment of their business activities with the EU Taxonomy Regulation. The EU Taxonomy Regulation also imposes product level disclosure obligations for FMPs on the extent to which their financial products are Taxonomy aligned or not. The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) introduces significant sustainability related reporting obligations covering a wide range of topics beyond climate change for various entities, including EU banks and certain non-EU companies and banks (by virtue of having EU listings or significant business in the EU), with reporting to commence on a phased basis from the financial year 2024. Related technical sustainability reporting standards (i.e., the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, or the ‘ESRS’) have been published and are expected to require significant amounts of data collection. Disclosure requirements may apply to companies in respect of their global operations, and not just their operations within the EU. The breadth of the ESRS is significant for financial institutions, as companies to which finance has been provided are considered to be within scope of their value chain, and thus their reporting. The European Commission is currently developing sector-specific reporting standards which are expected to clarify its expectations for reporting by financial institutions, but these are not expected to be released before mid-2026. The CSRD has also introduced assurance requirements in respect of