Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

10. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the way the EU environment taxonomy will impact on future corporate reporting obligations. [17870/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Taxonomy Regulation (2020/852) introduces an EU wide unified classification framework ('taxonomy') for determining whether an economic activity is environmentally sustainable, for the purpose of establishing the degree of environmental sustainability of an investment.

The Regulation will also apply to undertakings that are subject to the obligation to publish a non-financial statement under the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (2014/95/EU). The requirement to publish a non-financial statement is transposed in S.I. 360 of 2017 as amended. It applies to public-interest entities that are large and have more than 500 employees including banks, insurance undertakings, listed entities and public limited companies. Arising from the Taxonomy Regulation they will be obliged to disclose in the statement their turnover, investment or expenditure associated with environmentally sustainable activities under the taxonomy framework.

Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation sets out that the EU Commission are to adopt delegated acts by June 2021, which will specify the content, presentation and methodology of the information to be disclosed by undertakings subject to the Non-Financial Reporting Directive.

The EU Commission is also reviewing the Non-Financial Reporting Directive and a legislative proposal is anticipated in April.