ESG

As we move into the 2024 financial year, big changes are on the horizon for large publicly listed companies. Thanks to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), companies with over 500 employees are now required to significantly enhance how they report sustainability information. These changes, highlighted in the latest AFM (Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets) Market Watch report, will not only impact annual corporate reports but also extend to prospectuses and press releases, providing investors with clearer, more detailed insights into a company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts.

Mark Twain famously said, “You’re never wrong for doing the right thing.” While Twain wasn’t contemplating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, his words resonate powerfully in a world where corporate behavior is under an unrelenting microscope. ESG is no longer a "nice-to-have." It’s a guiding ethos that challenges businesses to reconcile profitability with purpose—and to do so transparently, accountably, and authentically.

A new survey by PwC reveals that less than half of companies required to report under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in 2024 are fully confident in their ability to meet the directive’s ambitious sustainability reporting standards. Despite the widespread recognition of the directive's significance, just 42% of respondents from large companies required to report on sustainability by next year feel fully prepared. For companies due to report the following year, that confidence drops to a mere 14%.

German companies are eager to lead the way in global climate protection but are running into a familiar roadblock: unreliable policies and patchy incentives. That’s the recurring theme of the AHK Climate Protection Compass 2024, a report from the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHKs).

A significant transformation is taking place in corporate reporting. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has introduced new standards that go beyond traditional financial metrics, challenging companies to provide a more comprehensive view of their sustainability impact.

The Council of the European Union has adopted a new regulation today to oversee Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating activities, following a similar move by the UK government earlier this month to bring these influential metrics under regulatory supervision.

The Hague Court of Appeal delivered its judgment last Tuesday in the closely watched appeal between Shell and Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie). While the court reaffirmed that Shell is responsible for reducing its carbon emissions, it concluded that the company should not be bound by a specific reduction rate.