In a statement published following the release of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG)’s draft technical advice on the European Sustainability Reporting Standard for non-EU companies (ESRS 40-a), the Platform calls for the highest level of consistency between reporting requirements for EU and non-EU businesses operating at significant scale in Europe. The Platform also raised concerns over the proposed “mixed approach” to reporting boundaries, which would allow non-EU companies to report only on sustainability impacts with a connection to the EU.

Mariana Ferreira, Sustainable Finance Policy Officer at WWF EU, said: “The ‘mixed approach’ risks obscuring major environmental and human rights impacts occurring elsewhere in global operations and value chains, while making sustainability reports less useful to investors. It goes directly against the interests of the EU and the competitiveness of European companies.”

The Platform’s statement also highlights the importance of EU Taxonomy-related information, warning that removing this disclosure would create gaps in the sustainability information available to investors and financial institutions and weaken a key pillar of the EU sustainable finance framework.

WWF urges EFRAG and the European Commission to follow the Platform’s recommendations for the final ESRS 40-a, including maintaining a consistent global reporting perimeter for sustainability impacts and ensuring robust disclosure requirements for all large companies with significant activities in the EU market.