(1)

The following Article is inserted: ‘Article 19a Non-financial statement 1. Large undertakings which are public-interest entities exceeding on their balance sheet dates the criterion of the average number of 500 employees during the financial year shall include in the management report a non-financial statement containing information to the extent necessary for an understanding of the undertaking's development, performance, position and impact of its activity, relating to, as a minimum, environmental, social and employee matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery matters, including: (a) a brief description of the undertaking's business model; (b) a description of the policies pursued by the undertaking in relation to those matters, including due diligence processes implemented; (c) the outcome of those policies; (d) the principal risks related to those matters linked to the undertaking's operations including, where relevant and proportionate, its business relationships, products or services which are likely to cause adverse impacts in those areas, and how the undertaking manages those risks; (e) non-financial key performance indicators relevant to the particular business. Where the undertaking does not pursue policies in relation to one or more of those matters, the non-financial statement shall provide a clear and reasoned explanation for not doing so. The non-financial statement referred to in the first subparagraph shall also, where appropriate, include references to, and additional explanations of, amounts reported in the annual financial statements. Member States may allow information relating to impending developments or matters in the course of negotiation to be omitted in exceptional cases where, in the duly justified opinion of the members of the administrative, management and supervisory bodies, acting within the competences assigned to them by national law and having collective responsibility for that opinion, the disclosure of such information would be seriously prejudicial to the commercial position of the undertaking, provided that such omission does not prevent a fair and balanced understanding of the undertaking's development, performance, position and impact of its activity. In requiring the disclosure of the information referred to in the first subparagraph, Member States shall provide that undertakings may rely on national, Union-based or international frameworks, and if they do so, undertakings shall specify which frameworks they have relied upon. 2. Undertakings fulfilling the obligation set out in paragraph 1 shall be deemed to have fulfilled the obligation relating to the analysis of non-financial information set out in the third subparagraph of Article 19(1). 3. An undertaking which is a subsidiary undertaking shall be exempted from the obligation set out in paragraph 1 if that undertaking and its subsidiary undertakings are included in the consolidated management report or the separate report of another undertaking, drawn up in accordance with Article 29 and this Article. 4. Where an undertaking prepares a separate report corresponding to the same financial year whether or not relying on national, Union-based or international frameworks and covering the information required for the non-financial statement as provided for in paragraph 1, Member States may exempt that undertaking from the obligation to prepare the non-financial statement laid down in paragraph 1, provided that such separate report: (a) is published together with the management report in accordance with Article 30; or (b) is made publicly available within a reasonable period of time, not exceeding six months after the balance sheet date, on the undertaking's website, and is referred to in the management report. Paragraph 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis to undertakings preparing a separate report as referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph. 5. Member States shall ensure that the statutory auditor or audit firm checks whether the non-financial statement referred to in paragraph 1 or the separate report referred to in paragraph 4 has been provided. 6. Member States may require that the information in the non-financial statement referred to in paragraph 1 or in the separate report referred to in paragraph 4 be verified by an independent assurance services provider.’ .