Sustainability News - February 2025

👉 Omnibus directive : What’s next for the CSRD?

Recent weeks have seen debate over the Omnibus Directive proposal. The European Commission's proposal is expected to be published on February 26.

💡 Find out everything you need to know about this topic, along with the latest updates, in our blog article: Europe Simplifies ESG Regulatory Frameworks: What You Need to Know About the Omnibus Directive.

👉 EBA's public consultation

On January 16, 2025, the European Banking Authority (EBA) launched a public consultation on its draft guidelines for integrating ESG scenario analysis into risk management. These guidelines aim to assist institutions in adopting forward-looking approaches and incorporating scenario analysis to test their financial and business resilience to ESG challenges.

The consultation is open until April 16, 2025.

Source: EBA, 16/01/2025

👉 Application of IFRS-S1 and IFRS-S2

The IFRS Foundation (International Financial Reporting Standards) published an educational guide on January 30, 2025, to help companies understand how to disclose only climate-related information in compliance with the IFRS-S2 standard (the so-called “climate-first” approach).
The guide also specifies which related IFRS-S1 requirements must be applied as part of this disclosure.

Educational material, Applying IFRS S1 when reporting only climate-related disclosures in accordance with IFRS S2, IFRS, 30/01/2025

👉 IESSA standards

The IESBA released the final version of its International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance (IESSA) on January 17, 2025, along with a new standard on the use of external expert work.
These two standards complement the ISSA 5000 standard issued by the IAASB in November 2024. Together, the IESBA and IAASB standards "set clear expectations for ethical behavior in sustainability reporting and assurance". In jurisdictions that adopt them, they will take effect on or after December 15, 2026.

International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance, IESBA, 27/01/2025

👉 ESRS & EMAS synergies

On January 16, EFRAG published a report analyzing the synergies between the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and EMAS (the EU’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme).
The report highlights that many of the ESRS environmental disclosure requirements can be built upon data already available within the EMAS framework.

Understanding the synergies between ESRS and EMAS, EFRAG, 16/01/2025

👉 Corporate Knights’ Global 100 ranking of the world’s most sustainable firms

The media Corporate Knights unveils its annual ranking of the 100 most sustainability-committed publicly traded companies, based on an analysis of 8,400 companies with over $1 billion in revenue worldwide. Sustainable investments continue to grow, with 58% of investments dedicated to sustainable development projects, up 3 points compared to 2024.

Source : Corporate knights, 22/01/2025

👉 ANC proposals for revision of the European regulatory framework

In light of the evolving European framework for corporate sustainability reporting, the French Accounting Standards Authority (ANC) has published a document outlining several proposals to streamline the requirements of the CSRD directive.

Contribution to the debate, ANC, 27/01/2025

👉 EU Platform on Sustainable Finance report on corporate transition plans

The EU Platform on Sustainable Finance published a report on January 23, 2025, to help financial market participants assess the key elements of corporate transition plans. The report also explores how integrating the EU taxonomy and other sustainable finance tools into transition plans can strengthen them and improve companies' access to financing.

Report on corporate transition plans, EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, 12/01/2025

👉 EBA’s guidelines on managing ESG risks

On January 9, 2025, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published the final guidelines on the management of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks. These guidelines apply to all financial institutions by January 11, 2026. However, small and non-complex institutions have an additional year to comply, with the deadline set for January 11, 2027.

Guidelines on the management of ESG risks, EBA, 08/01/2025