EC Task Force Proposes Roadmap for Developing Sustainability Reporting
EC published two reports that were prepared on a request from EC and set out recommendations on the development of sustainability reporting standards. One report proposes a roadmap for the development of a comprehensive set of EU sustainability reporting standards while the other proposes reforms to the governance structure of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) to ensure that future EU sustainability reporting standards are developed using an inclusive and rigorous process. The report on governance structure proposes to create a new non-financial reporting pillar, alongside the existing financial reporting pillar of EFRAG. EC will consider these reports as it prepares the proposal to strengthen the Non Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), which is being planned for April.
EC notes that sustainability standards are necessary to ensure consistency of reporting rules at the heart of the sustainable finance agenda, especially the existing Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), the Taxonomy Regulation, and the requirements of forthcoming legislation on sustainable corporate governance and due diligence. The report on development of sustainability standards in EU highlights the main recommendations (54 proposals) of the EFRAG Project Task Force on preparatory work for the elaboration of possible EU non-financial reporting standards. This report, which was prepared by a multi-stakeholder task force established by EFRAG, presents the key conclusions of the Task Force:
- Standard-setting should be built on robust EU conceptual guidelines, addressing public good alignment, expected qualitative characteristics of information, relevant time-horizons, clear boundaries, double materiality, and connectivity between financial and sustainability reporting.
- The overall target architecture of standards should be coherent and comprehensive and should reflect appropriate layers of reporting (sector-agnostic, sector-specific, and entity-specific), relevant reporting areas, and a coverage of sustainability topics classified under an ESG+ categorization. Presentation should preferably be organized under "sustainability statements" and digitization should be considered from the start. Sustainability reporting should be directly connected to management reporting systems, enabling reporting entities to better understand and manage sustainability matters. The resulting standards must also provide a basis to develop a data taxonomy that facilitates the digitization of sustainability statements.
- The standard-setting roadmap toward the target architecture should be implemented in realistic phases, with the expectation that . However, the first-time application of the revised EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive should benefit from a robust first set of "core" standards.
- Significant merit exists in promoting a mutually reinforcing cooperation between EU standard-setting efforts and international initiatives or fora.
The report highlights that change of paradigm in standard-setting requires careful prioritization; this implies a step-by-step project toward a comprehensive and stable reporting platform, allowing companies to report in line with the provisions of the revised NFRD. The first set of standards should allow companies to report pursuant to the revised NFRD and should tentatively include two priority conceptual guidelines (on double materiality and quality of information); cross-cutting "core" standards covering reporting areas, reporting structure, and entity-specific materiality assessment; and "core" standards for most sub-topics (reasonably mature) and "advanced" standards for some priority sub-topics such as climate change. The second set of standards for reporting should start enhancing content and should tentatively cover the remaining four conceptual guidelines; "advanced" cross-cutting standards (if need be); and "advanced" standards for other priority sub-topics. The Project Task Force understands that the possible due dates for the two initial sets of standards are as follows:
- For set 1, draft standards are to be proposed by the European standard-setter by June-September 2022 (applicable for reporting year 2023 and applying to the reports published in 2024).
- For set: draft standards are to be proposed by the European standard-setter by June-September 2023 (applicable for reporting year 2024 and applying to reports published in 2025).
The report proposes that sustainability reporting for small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, should be addressed as part of the first two sets and SME-specific standards should be elaborated focusing on business model, summarized sustainability challenges and retrospective key performance indicators, and corresponding to the expectations of the SME management team, the value chain counterparts, and financial institutions. Alongside the first two sets of sector-agnostic standards, sector-specific disclosures should be considered—either prioritizing the most-impactful/most impacted sectors and covering all sectors over time or under an all-sector coverage based on an initial "core" (more limited in terms of depth) approach.
Related Links
- News Release
- Report on Roadmap for Reporting Standards (PDF)
- Report on Changes in EFRAG Structure (PDF)
Keywords: Europe, EU, Banking, Insurance, Securities, NFRD, ESG, EFRAG, Reporting, Climate Change Risk, SFDR, Taxonomy Regulation, Sustainability Reporting Platform, EC
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.

Michael Denton, PhD, PE
Dr. Denton provides industry leadership in the quantification of sustainability issues, climate risk, trade credit and emerging lending risks. His deep foundations in market and credit risk provide critical perspectives on how climate/sustainability risks can be measured, communicated and used to drive commercial opportunities, policy, strategy, and compliance. He supports corporate clients and financial institutions in leveraging Moody’s tools and capabilities to improve decision-making and compliance capabilities, with particular focus on the energy, agriculture and physical commodities industries.
Previous Article
BOJ and JFSA Respond to IBA and FCA Announcements on LIBOR CessationRelated Articles
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.
ESMA Publishes 2022 ESEF XBRL Taxonomy and Conformance Suite
The General Board of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), at its December meeting, issued an updated risk assessment via the quarterly risk dashboard and held discussions on key policy priorities to address the systemic risks in the European Union.