On 6 May 2026, the European Commission (“EC”) published its consultation on draft final revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (“ESRS”), alongside a draft voluntary reporting standard for certain SMEs (“VSME”). The revised ESRS are intended to simplify sustainability reporting under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”)
EU and UK Corporate Sustainability Reporting Updates
There were some significant developments in the corporate sustainability reporting world this week: the EU published the directive implementing the so-called ‘Omnibus 1 package’ (the “Omnibus 1 Directive”), whilst the UK Government published finalised versions of the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (“UK SRS”).
Omnibus 1 Directive
On 26 February 2026, the
The European Commission publishes FAQs on the implementation of the EU corporate sustainability reporting rules
On 7 August 2024, the European Commission published a set of frequently asked questions on the implementation of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2464) (“CSRD“) and the interpretation of certain legal provisions in the Accounting Directive (Directive 2013/34/EU), the Transparency Directive (Directive 2004/109/EC) and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (Regulation
The ESMA sets out its long-term vision on the functioning of the Sustainable Finance Framework
On 24 July 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA“) published an opinion on the sustainable finance regulatory framework (the “ESMA Opinion“), which outlines the ESMA’s long-term vision for the functioning of the EU’s sustainable finance framework (the “Framework“). The ESMA Opinion builds on the findings of the
CLIMATE LITIGATION – THE GRANTHAM RESEARCH INSTITUTE ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE ENVIRONMENT PUBLISHES ITS 2024 GLOBAL TRENDS IN CLIMATE LITIGATION REPORT
According to the Grantham Institute’s 2024 Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation Policy Report (the “Report“) – which was published on 27 June 2024 – climate-related litigation against private sector actors continues to be on the rise. The Report highlights that over 230 climate-related lawsuits have been initiated against corporations and trade associations since 2015, with over two thirds of those lawsuits filed since 2020. The Report also highlights that the growth rate of climate-related cases is showing signs of stabilisation, at over 200 new climate-related cases per year. The risk of private sector actors facing climate-related lawsuits is not, therefore, showing any signs of diminishing.
Continue Reading CLIMATE LITIGATION – THE GRANTHAM RESEARCH INSTITUTE ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE ENVIRONMENT PUBLISHES ITS 2024 GLOBAL TRENDS IN CLIMATE LITIGATION REPORTVOLUNTARY CARBON MARKETS
- High-integrity VCMs, as well as carbon credit markets more broadly, have the potential to support decarbonization efforts within the United
UK government publishes implementation update in relation to sustainability disclosures
On 16 May 2024, the UK Government published an implementation update on its development of economy-wide sustainability disclosure requirements (the “Implementation Update“). The Implementation Update, which the UK Government committed to publishing in its 2023 Green Finance Strategy (which you can read more about here), discusses:
- its endorsement of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards;
- transition plan disclosures;
- the Financial Conduct Authority’s (“FCA“) Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (“SDR“) and investment labels regime;
- the UK Green Taxonomy; and
- nature-related disclosures.
ESMA PUBLISHES GUIDELINES ON ESTABLISHING HARMONISED CRITERIA FOR USE OF ESG AND SUSTAINABILITY-RELATED TERMS IN FUND NAMES
On 14 May 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA“) published its final report on “Guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms” (the “Guidelines“). The Guidelines aim to provide fund managers with clear and measurable criteria to assess their ability to use ESG and/or sustainability-related terms
Transition Plans & Real Estate
In a survey carried out by HSBC in 2023, 97% of real estate developers and investors said net zero was important to their business and 59% of the largest real estate companies said net zero was their top priority.
A third of companies in the sector already have Transition Plans and the push for formalising Transition Plans across the sector is increasing.
In April 2024, the Transition Plan Taskforce (“TPT”) published its final set of transition plan resources to help businesses transition to net zero.
In this article, we consider the guidance available to the real estate sector in preparing Transition Plans (“TP”).
Continue Reading Transition Plans & Real EstateUK COMPETITION AND MARKETS AUTHORITY REMINDS FASHION RETAILERS THAT IT’S NOT SO EASY TO CLAIM YOU’RE GREEN
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA“) has announced that three fashion retailers have signed voluntary undertakings to ensure that consumers have a clearer idea of how green their clothes really are. At the end of March 2024, ASOS, Boohoo and George at Asda committed to only make green claims about their products