The European Commission (EC) is making stringent new demands on companies’ reporting of their impact on the environment, as it looks to drive investors’ money towards the greenest firms.
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The directive, launched in September 2020, has been troubled by inconsistencies Better Finance, the European financial services NGO, has launched a survey of shareholders after the Shareholder Rights Directive II (SRD II) encountered teething issues shortly after launch. The European Commission introduced SRD II legislation in September 2020 to facilitate the rights of shareholders across […]
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EC corporate governance report draws criticism The European Commission report on directors’ duties and sustainable corporate governance, published earlier this year, is drawing heavy criticism from law experts. Writing on the Oxford Business Law blog, the European Company Law Experts Group said the study is “not a document on which to base sustainable proposals for […]
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EU’s Sustainable Finance Platform lacks asset owners The EU has published the list of members appointed to its Sustainable Finance Platform, which is remarkable in its lack of representation of asset owners. The platform is an advisory body made up of experts from the private and public sector and its members will advise the European […]
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The European Commission has officially mandated the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) to provide recommendations for updating non-financial reporting standards. In an open letter, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis issued a request for technical advice to EFRAG following the conclusion of a recent consultation for revising the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). This […]
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Greek companies will soon be mandated to meet a 25% female quota on their boards following a landmark decision for gender diversity. The quota requirement has been included as an amendment to the bill transposing the EU Shareholder Rights Directive II (SRD II) into Greek law, and is the result of a consultation led by […]
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French regulator demands broader scope for non-financial reporting The French securities regulator, AMF, has asked the European Commission to make all companies, irrespective of size, disclose harmonised ESG data under the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive. The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), explaining its reasoning in a response to the commission’s call for feedback on the […]
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European Commission pushes ahead with SRD II The European Commission will proceed with the implementation of the second Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD II), defying protests from some post-trade groups. As a result, the second phase of SRD II will come into force on 3 September 2020, as originally scheduled. The first phase of implementation saw […]
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Have regulators been deceived on green benchmarks? New European regulations on green benchmarks have been thrown into the spotlight this week, amid allegations they favour the interests of a handful of ESG data providers rather than supporting “genuine sustainability”. The European Commission’s proposals to develop benchmarks for low-carbon investment strategies have been dubbed “flawed and […]
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