The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published new legislation with the aim of standardising sustainability reporting throughout the European Union. The purpose of these recommendations is to ensure consistent application and supervision of sustainability reporting requirements. Both the Public Statement on European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the Final Report on the Guidelines for Enforcing Sustainability Information (GLESI) contain an overview of them.
Investors expect to gain from enhanced comparability and transparency of sustainability data because of the GLESI’s framework for standardising regulatory procedures. ESMA emphasised that in order to improve openness in sustainability reporting, national agencies need to adopt a consistent strategy.
ESMA’s Public Statement seeks to facilitate the first phase of ESRS implementation by offering help to big issuers. Recognising the difficulties posed by these new standards, ESMA plans to offer precise guidelines to make it easier for large corporations to adopt them.
As part of its mission to promote green finance, ESMA’s guidelines are centred on positioning EU capital markets as leaders in sustainable finance. They hope to improve supervisory consistency among EU member states and simplify compliance requirements through increased cooperation.
In the future, ESMA plans to evaluate GLESI implementation in 2025 and closely monitor sustainability reporting standards. To ensure accessibility and understanding among member states, the guidelines will be translated into every language spoken in the EU and posted on the ESMA website.
Furthermore, in its upcoming Public Statement on the 2024 European Common Enforcement Priorities, which is expected in Q4, ESMA will make recommendations on the sustainability statements of listed companies.
Source:- ESG NEWS