The Irish Government has pledged its support for the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
The EU Competitiveness Council has agreed enhanced measures for non-financial reporting by companies on environmental, social, human rights and governance matters.
The main elements of the proposal for a new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive to revise the existing rules on non-financial reporting by companies:
+ comprises environmental, social, human rights and governance matters
+ extends the scope to all large companies and public interest entities (banks, insurance undertakings and listed companies with at least 250 employees)
In Association with
+ requires the audit of reported information
+ introduces a requirement to report according to mandatory EU sustainability reporting standards under development by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group with simplified standards for SMEs
+ requires companies to digitally ‘tag’ the reported information, so it is machine readable and feeds into the European Single Access Point envisaged in the capital markets union action plan.
Robert Troy, Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, said there is an imperative for more robust non-financial reporting to drive the urgent need for action on climate change.
"There is an onus on us to require sustainability reporting in a clear way that gives maximum relevant information to investors, consumers and other stakeholders while avoiding unnecessary burdens on companies," the minister stated.
"Ireland has fully supported this proposal which strikes the right balance by initially including the largest companies before being expanded to listed SMEs. While this is a positive step to more enhanced corporate sustainability reporting, I believe we should be as ambitious as possible on timelines and stay open to bringing forward the timeframes for implementation as we move into Trilogues with the European Parliament."
During the Council meeting where the proposed Directive was discussed, French officials updated ministers on plans for a universal charger for mobile phones, tablets, cameras, portable wireless speakers, and wireless headphones, which will see devices being made available with or without a charger.
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