European Commission publishes action plan on sustainable finance

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08 Mar 2018

In January 2018, the High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Sustainable Finance, established by the European Commission (EC), published its final report setting out strategic recommendations for a financial system that supports sustainable investments. The European Commission has now reacted to the recommendations by proposing an EU strategy on sustainable finance setting out a roadmap for further work and upcoming actions covering all relevant actors in the financial system.

As regards accounting, the action plan includes the following points:

  • Fitness check of EU legislation on public corporate reporting, including theNon-Financial Reporting Directive, to assess whether public reporting requirements for listed and non-listed companies are fit for purpose;
  • by Q2 2019, revision of the guidelines on non-financial information to provide further guidance to companies on how to disclose climate-related information, in line with the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board's Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD);
  • by Q3 2018, creation of a European Corporate Reporting Lab as part of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG);
  • request EFRAG, where appropriate, to assess the impact of new or revised IFRSs on sustainable investments; and
  • as part of the fitness check, evaluation of relevant aspects of the International Accounting Standards Regulation focusing in particular on how the adoption process of IFRSs can allow for specific adjustments to standards where they are not conducive to the European public good.

Please click for the full text of the action plan on the EC website. Additional documents such as FAQs and a factsheet are available here.

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