The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has published a Final Report on the Guidelines on Enforcement of Sustainability Information (GLESI) and a Public Statement on the first application of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). These documents will support the consistent application and supervision of sustainability reporting requirements.
The purpose of the GLESI is to provide guidance to build convergence on supervisory practices on sustainability reporting. See explainer video here. Through the Public Statement on the first-time application of the ESRS, ESMA intends to support large issuers in going through the learning curve associated with the implementation of these new reporting requirements. See visuals here.
The guidelines and statement published today are in line with recommendations proposed in the recently published ESMA Position Paper “Building more effective and attractive capital markets in the EU” namely:
- promoting EU capital markets as a hub for green finance – this should include efforts to clarify the disclosure of sustainability information to aid comprehension by investors, also through the use of sustainability labels/categories as necessary; reducing complexity and enhancing clarity for the industry can also serve to ease compliance burdens; and
- improving supervisory consistency amongst EU National Authorities – fostering harmonised enforcement outcomes through enhanced cooperation and convergence
Next steps
ESMA will continue to monitor the sustainability reporting practices in 2025 as well as the application of the GLESI. ESMA will translate the GLESI in all EU languages and make these translations available on its website.
In addition, ESMA will release in Q4 recommendations in relation to the sustainability statements of listed companies in its Public Statement on the 2024 European Common Enforcement Priorities.
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