The European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif), the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) are calling on the European Commission to uphold the “integrity and ambition” of the first set of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Investors have been invited to sign the letter, which is open for signatories until 28 June. In a joint statement, the three organisations said they were “concerned” about the proposal for the Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive rowing back on requiring certain key disclosure indicators to be reported on a mandatory basis. The draft delegated act said disclosure indicators will instead be subject to materiality assessment, which the statement described as a “significant rollback of ambition” compared to that envisaged by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). The statement added that the proposed approach to the ESRS’ would “limit investor access to consistent, comparable and reliable information” required to inform decisions and allocate capital in line with sustainability goals. This includes decisions and allocations relating to the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the EU Climate Law. The statement calls for the Commission to maintain key climate disclosure indicators as mandatory, including Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions and disclosures enabling investors to assess the credibility of corporate transition plans, as well as ensuring environmental and social indicators are relevant to EU Climate Benchmark Regulation and Climate Benchmarks Delegated Acts, Pillar 3 disclosures and other investor reporting regulations are disclosed by in-scope companies on a mandatory basis, and require explanations on why certain sustainability topics are not considered material for a company. The consultation on this first set of ESRS is due to close on 7 July.
