16.12.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
L 322/17
(3)
In its Communication of 17 June 2019 entitled ‘Guidelines on non-financial reporting: Supplement on reporting climate-related information’ (‘Guidelines on reporting climate-related information’), the Commission highlighted the benefits for companies of reporting on climate-related information particularly by increasing awareness and understanding of climate-related risks and opportunities within the company, diversifying the investor base, creating a lower cost of capital and improving constructive dialogue with all stakeholders.
Furthermore, diversity on company boards might have an influence on decision-making, corporate governance and resilience.
(4)
In its conclusions of 5 December 2019 on the deepening of the Capital Markets Union, the Council stressed the importance of reliable, comparable and relevant information on sustainability risks, opportunities and impacts, and called on the Commission to consider the development of a European non-financial reporting standard.
(5)
In its resolution of 29 May 2018 on sustainable finance (14), the European Parliament called for the further development of non-financial reporting requirements in the framework of Directive 2013/34/EU.
In its resolution of 17 December 2020 on sustainable corporate governance (15), the European Parliament welcomed the Commission’s commitment to review Directive 2013/34/EU and expressed the need to set up a comprehensive Union framework on non-financial reporting that contains mandatory Union non-financial reporting standards.
The European Parliament called for the expansion of the scope of the reporting requirements to additional categories of undertakings and for the introduction of an audit requirement.
(6)
In its resolution of 25 September 2015 entitled ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ (the ‘2030 Agenda’) the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a new global sustainable development framework.
The 2030 Agenda has at its core the UN Sustainable Development Goals (‘SDGs’) and covers the three dimensions of sustainability: economic, social and environmental.
The Commission Communication of 22 November 2016 entitled ‘Next steps for a sustainable European future: European action for sustainability’ linked the SDGs to the Union policy framework to ensure that all Union actions and policy initiatives, both within and outside the Union, take those goals on board at the outset.
In its conclusions of 20 June 2017 on ‘A sustainable European future: The EU response to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, the Council confirmed the commitment of the Union and its Member States to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in a full, coherent, comprehensive, integrated and effective manner, in close cooperation with partners and other stakeholders.
(7)
Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (16) amended Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial information by certain large undertakings and groups.
Directive 2014/95/EU introduced a requirement on undertakings to report information on, as a minimum, environmental, social and employee matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery matters.
With regard to those topics, Directive 2014/95/EU required undertakings to disclose information under the following reporting areas: business model; policies, including due diligence processes; the outcome of those policies; risks and risk management; and key performance indicators relevant to the business.
(8)
Many stakeholders consider the term ‘non-financial’ to be inaccurate, in particular because it implies that the information in question has no financial relevance.
Increasingly, however, such information does have financial relevance.
Many organisations, initiatives and practitioners in the field of sustainability reporting refer to ‘sustainability information’.
It is therefore preferable to use the term ‘sustainability information’ in place of ‘nonfinancial information’.
Directive 2013/34/EU should therefore be amended to take account of that change in terminology.
(14) OJ C 76, 9.3.2020, p. 23.
(15) OJ C 445, 29.10.2021, p. 94.
(16) Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups (OJ L 330, 15.11.2014, p. 1).