The european Union has today adopted guidelines on the disclosure of environmental and social information. These guidelines will help companies to disclose relevant non-financial information in a consistent and more comparable manner.<\/p>\n
The aim is to boost corporate transparency and performance, as well as encourage companies to embrace a more sustainable approach.<\/p>\n
The adoption of today’s guidelines will supplement the already existing european rules on non-financial reporting. In fact, the european directive entered into force on 6 December 2014 with practical effect as of 2018 on information relating to the 2017 financial year.<\/p>\n
Companies falling within its scope have to disclose relevant information on policies, risks and results as regards environmental matters, social and employee-related aspects, as well as respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery issues, and diversity on the boards of directors.<\/p>\n
The disclosure requirements for non-financial information apply to certain large companies with more than 500 employees gives them significant flexibility to disclose relevant information in the way that they consider most useful, including in a separate report. Costs for companies associated with the Directive are commensurate with the value and usefulness of the information, and with the size and complexity of their business.<\/p>\n
The deadline for transposition into national legislation by Member states was 6 December 2016.<\/p>\n
The new guidelines will support companies in fulfilling their reporting obligations under current non-financial disclosure requirements and will promote smart company reporting, to perform better over time, as well as to enjoy lower financig costs, to attract and retain talented employees.<\/p>\n
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Well-informed business and investment decisions have much better chances to succeed. Appropriate non-financial discosure is also an essential element to enable sustainable finance (developing an overarching and comprehensive european strategy on sustainable finance as part of the capital markets Union).<\/p>\n
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