The Current State of Corporate Sustainability Reporting Regulation in the European Union

Abstract

Over the last few years, sustainability disclosure, which was hitherto primarily voluntary, has increasingly become mandatory in many countries. The European Union (EU) is at the forefront of this change. In 2014, the European Parliament adopted the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) 2014/95/EU, which mandates that certain large companies based in the EU need to disclose sustainability information. Further regulatory initiatives have followed, such as the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and the EU Taxonomy Regulation. In November 2022, the European Parliament adopted the revision of the NFRD, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. In addition, the International Sustainability Standards Board and the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group have published sustainability reporting standards. Overall, these changes are interconnected and rapidly evolving, making it increasingly difficult for researchers and practitioners to keep track. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of sustainability disclosure regulation in the EU.

Keywords: Sustainability Reporting, Regulation, European Union, Non-Financial Reporting Directive, Taxonomy Regulation, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive