• The two reports tackle the extension of the EU Taxonomy Regulation to transitional activities and propose the technical screening criteria for the four remaining environmental objectives.

In the last days of March, the European Commission’s Platform on Sustainable Finance (PSF), Subgroups 1 and 3, released two final reports on Environmental Transition Taxonomy and Recommendations on TSC on the Four Remaining Environmental Objectives. The reports, which the Commission can ignore, amend or adopt, aim at guiding green investments towards more economic activities, in line with the main priorities and guidelines of the EU Taxonomy.

The first report on Environmental Transition Economy proposes a new “traffic light system” for the EU Taxonomy, moving beyond the dichotomy of green/non-green. The report introduces two new labels for additional economic activities with:

• Significant negative (or red) impact on the environment

• Intermediate (or amber) impact, with performances included between the thresholds of substantial contribution (SC) and do not significant harm (DNSH).

The aim of such an inclusion is to boost finance for the green transition and support companies to unlock the necessary funds. In so doing, the PSF recognize the dynamic nature of Taxonomy and the importance of engaging with all companies, regardless of their initial performance.

Additionally, the report recognises the existence of a new category of activities, those with low or absent impact on the environment (LEnvI), which represent around 30% of all the economic activities on the markets and that may never be part of Taxonomy.

The methodological report published by the Platform Technical Expert Group contains instead recommendations relating to the technical screening criteria for objectives 3 – 6 of the Taxonomy Regulation: transition to a circular economy; pollution prevention; sustainable use of water and marine resources; restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.

The document includes recommendations to improve the overall design of the Taxonomy. The advisory group has drafted criteria for around 60 economic activities in 12 sectors. The prioritisation has been based on an analysis of the magnitude of their impact and improvement potential, for each of the objectives. Several additional impactful activities, such as mining and quarrying, have been left for future reflection. The platform will release additional criteria in May.

CSR EUROPE’S ACTIVITIES TO STAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE EU TAXONOMY

In 2022 CSR Europe continues its activity on EU Taxonomy, through a series of events and exclusive activities for members. Guided by experts from the European Commission, the Platform on Sustainable Finance, and the business community, CSR Europe events aim to address corporate’s needs on the EU Taxonomy regulation, as well as to provide a panoramic overview of the upcoming milestones and developments.

• Webinar EU Update on the Future Social Taxonomy, on May 5th, from 11.00 to 12.30 CET, open to all CSR Europe members and NPOs. The event will see the participation of Antje Schneeweis, Rapporteur of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, who will illustrate briefly the final report on Social Taxonomy published on February 28th by Subgroup 4, and the next steps of the Platform on the criteria for the social objectives and the minimum safeguards.

• Atelier Environmental Taxonomy: Taxo 4 and Traffic Light System on July 7th, from 10.00 to 12.30 CEST, exclusive to CSR Europe Corporate Members. The atelier will focus on the recent developments concerning the environmental Taxonomy, illustrating the main concepts and changes portraited by the PSF reports and addressing participants’ main questions.

For more information please contact:

Giorgia Miccoli, EU Affairs Project Manager, at gm@csreurope.org

Ilaria Orsi, Sustainable Finance Project Manager, at io@csreurope.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

SERVICES & TOOLS