EC Consults on Review of Non-Financial Reporting Directive
EC is launched a consultation on the review of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive or NFRD (Directive 2014/95/EU, as part of its strategy to strengthen sustainable investment in Europe. The Directive requires certain large companies to include a non-financial statement (for example, on environmental or social issues) as part of their annual public reporting obligations. The consultation is intended to collect views from across EU on possible reforms or improvements that could be made to the Directive. The consultation ends on May 14, 2020 and the feedback from this consultation will feed into the EC impact assessment on the review of the Directive. EC also published the remarks given by the Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, at the IFRS Foundation Conference. Mr. Dombrovskis discussed ongoing and potential developments in the areas of the non-financial reporting, reporting in the European Single Electronic Format, and disclosures related to sustainable finance.
A review of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive is an essential part of the effort of EC to scale up sustainable finance by improving corporate transparency and providing all stakeholders with more comparable and relevant information on sustainable business activities. In addition to this public consultation, EC will also conduct targeted surveys that will be addressed to small and medium-size enterprises and to companies under the scope of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive. The targeted surveys will collect more detailed opinions and data from companies on certain issues, including costs related to non-financial reporting. In addition, the services of EC will soon launch a public consultation on a Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy to seek stakeholder views on other issues related to sustainable finance, including questions on sustainable corporate governance.
EU rules on non-financial reporting only apply to large public-interest companies with more than 500 employees. They cover approximately 6,000 large companies and groups across EU, including listed companies, banks, insurance companies, other companies designated by the national authorities as public-interest entities. The NFRD identifies four sustainability issues (environment, social and employee issues, human rights, and bribery and corruption) and with respect to these issues it requires companies to disclose information about their business model, policies (including implemented due diligence processes), outcomes, risks and risk management, and key performance indicators relevant to the business. It does not introduce or require the use of a non-financial reporting standard or framework, nor does it impose detailed disclosure requirements such as lists of indicators per sector.
In addition to the provisions of the NFRD, several other EU legislative acts require disclosures of sustainability-related information for financial sector entities:
- The Regulation on prudential requirements for credit institutions requires certain banks to disclose ESG risks as of June 28, 2022.
- The Regulation on sustainability‐related disclosures in the financial services sector requires financial market participants to disclose their policies on the integration of sustainability risks in their investment decision-making process and the adverse impact of investment decisions on sustainability factors, as of March 10, 2021.
- The Regulation establishing a framework to facilitate sustainable investment (the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy) creates new reporting obligations, including for companies subject to the NFRD, starting in December 2021.
Related Links
Comment Due Date: May 14, 2020
Keywords: Europe, EU, Banking, Insurance, Securities, Sustainable Finance, Disclosures, Reporting, Climate Change Risk, Non-Financial Reporting, EC, ESG
Featured Experts

María Cañamero
Skilled market researcher; growth strategist; successful go-to-market campaign developer

Nicolas Degruson
Works with financial institutions, regulatory experts, business analysts, product managers, and software engineers to drive regulatory solutions across the globe.

David Fihrer
Skilled life insurance actuary; subject matter expert on IFRS 17 and source of earnings
Previous Article
ECB Paper Discusses Integration of Microdata for Policy NeedsRelated Articles
EBA Launches Stress Tests for Banks, Issues Other Updates
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched the 2023 European Union (EU)-wide stress test, published annual reports on minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) and high earners with data as of December 2021.
EBA Proposes Standards for IRRBB Reporting Under Basel Framework
The European Banking Authority (EBA) proposed implementing technical standards on the interest rate risk in the banking book (IRRBB) reporting requirements, with the comment period ending on May 02, 2023.
FED Issues Further Details on Pilot Climate Scenario Analysis Exercise
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board (FED) set out details of the pilot climate scenario analysis exercise to be conducted among the six largest U.S. bank holding companies.
US Agencies Issue Several Regulatory and Reporting Updates
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FED) adopted the final rule on Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act.
ECB Issues Multiple Reports and Regulatory Updates for Banks
The European Central Bank (ECB) published an updated list of supervised entities, a report on the supervision of less significant institutions (LSIs), a statement on macro-prudential policy.
HKMA Keeps List of D-SIBs Unchanged, Makes Other Announcements
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published a circular on the prudential treatment of crypto-asset exposures, an update on the status of transition to new interest rate benchmarks.
EU Issues FAQs on Taxonomy Regulation, Rules Under CRD, FICOD and SFDR
The European Commission (EC) adopted the standards addressing supervisory reporting of risk concentrations and intra-group transactions, benchmarking of internal approaches, and authorization of credit institutions.
CBIRC Revises Measures on Corporate Governance Supervision
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) issued rules to manage the risk of off-balance sheet business of commercial banks and rules on corporate governance of financial institutions.
HKMA Publications Address Sustainability Issues in Financial Sector
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) made announcements to address sustainability issues in the financial sector.
EBA Updates Address Basel and NPL Requirements for Banks
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published regulatory standards on identification of a group of connected clients (GCC) as well as updated the lists of identified financial conglomerates.