The FAQs aim to clarify key aspects of the CSRD, including the scope of the rules, compliance dates, and exemptions.
By Paul A. Davies, Axel Schiemann, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Lasse Winzer
On 7 August 2024, the European Commission (Commission) published a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the interpretation of certain provisions of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The FAQs aim to facilitate compliance and ensure the usability and comparability
The draft represents the next step in transposing the CSRD into national law.
By Axel Schiemann and Dominik Schöneberger
On 24 July 2024, the German Federal Government adopted the governmental draft of the Act implementing the EU Directive on Sustainability Reporting (Directive (EU) 2022/2464 – CSRD) into German law (the Government Draft). The adoption of the Government Draft constitutes the next significant step in the legislative process after the German Ministry of Finance published the first draft implementing law on
The ESAs urge the European Commission to consider a labelling rather than a disclosure regime to help consumers understand the sustainability goals of financial products.
By Nicola Higgs, Jaime Martin, Sara Sayma, and Charlotte Collins
On 18 June 2024, the European Supervisory Authorities — the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), collectively the ESAs — published a joint opinion on the Sustainable Finance
Guidelines indicate when asset managers may legitimately use ESG or sustainability-related terms in their fund names.
By Nicola Higgs, Laura Ferrell, and Charlotte Collins
On 14 May 2024, ESMA published its final Guidelines on funds’ names using ESG- or sustainability-related terms. The Guidelines aim to address the risk of funds’ names misleading investors by ensuring that their names can be supported in a material way by evidence of sustainability characteristics or objectives that are reflected fairly and consistently in the fund’s investment objectives and policy.
ESMA originally consulted on the Guidelines in November 2022 (see this blog post), but finalisation has been delayed while reviews of the AIFMD and UCITS Directive were completed. Notably, ESMA received substantive feedback on the consultation and made several amendments to the Guidelines accordingly.
The final guidance clarifies the scope and application date of the rule, and answers questions around good practice and accessing third-party data.
By Nicola Higgs and Jaime Martin
On 23 April 2024, the FCA published its final guidance (FG23/4) on its new anti-greenwashing rule, which comes into force on 31 May 2024. The anti-greenwashing rule will require all authorised firms to ensure that any reference they make to the sustainability characteristics of their financial products and services are
The European Parliament and the Council of the EU have made some significant changes to the European Commission’s proposal.
On 5 February 2024, the European Parliament and Council of the EU announced that they had reached a provisional political agreement on the text of the ESG Ratings Regulation (the Regulation). The agreed text was subsequently published on 14 February 2024. The Regulation was initially proposed by the Commission in June 2023, and seeks to introduce a new regulatory regime for ESG ratings providers “operating in the Union”. Refer to this Latham blog post for previous commentary on the proposal.
Benchmark administrators should review the quality of their ESG benchmark disclosures ahead of a review by EU regulators during 2024.
By Nicola Higgs, Becky Critchley, Anne Mainwaring, Ella McGinn, and Charlotte Collins
On 13 December 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, announced its plans to launch a Common Supervisory Action (CSA). Along with National Competent Authorities (NCAs), ESMA plans to review the mandatory disclosures of benchmark administrators providing benchmarks that pursue ESG objectives under the EU Benchmarks Regulation (EU BMR).
The CSA is the first that ESMA will conduct since it assumed its direct supervisory role under the EU BMR. As part of the CSA, ESMA and the NCAs will share knowledge and experience to harmonise how they supervise ESG disclosure requirements for benchmark administrators.
The FCA has set out good and poor practices for asset managers to consider in relation to funds with ESG or sustainable characteristics.
By Nicola Higgs, Anne Mainwaring, and Charlotte Collins
On 16 November 2023, the FCA published the findings from its review of how asset managers have been embedding current regulatory expectations regarding the design, delivery, and disclosure of funds marketed as having ESG or sustainable characteristics.
With the FCA yet to finalise its Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labelling regime, it reviewed authorised fund managers’ (AFMs’) compliance with existing regulatory requirements, including the Guiding Principles set out in the Dear Chair letter issued in July 2021 (see this Latham blog post). The recently implemented Consumer Duty has added an extra dimension for AFMs to consider since the Guiding Principles were issued. The FCA highlights that the consumer understanding outcome is particularly relevant for AFMs providing ESG or sustainable funds; under this outcome, firms need to provide investors with the information they need at the right time and present it in a suitable way.
The EU regulators are reviewing the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation introduced in 2021, exploring the need for potential additional adjustments.
By Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Anne Mainwaring
On 14 September 2023, the European Commission initiated a consultation on its sustainable financial disclosure practices, seeking feedback on Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 — the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The consultation surveys stakeholders’ experiences during the implementation of the SFDR and, in particular, solicits feedback on its interactions with the broader EU sustainable finance framework.
An evolving landscape of reforms in the ESG ratings sector continues to pose challenges to providers of ratings and scores.
By Paul A. Davies, Nicola Higgs, Rob Moulton, Michael D. Green, Becky Critchley, Anne Mainwaring, and Charlotte Collins
International momentum to regulate ESG ratings continues as the European Commission released a consultation on 13 June 2023 to create a new regulatory regime for ESG ratings providers. This consultation follows a Call for Evidence that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued on 4 April 2022.