GRI welcomes the adoption on NFR directive
On Monday 29 September, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the Directive on disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large companies. GRI welcomes this final step in the multi-year process!
“The adoption of the EU Directive represents the conclusion of a robust process in which GRI and other stakeholders played a crucial role” said Teresa Fogelberg, GRI’s Deputy Chief Executive. This final positive step confirms the EU’s strong commitment to corporate transparency and sustainability, supporting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and paving the way for a sustainable global economy.
• Required to report on environmental, social and employee-related, human rights, anti-corruption and bribery matters;
• Required to describe their business model, outcomes and risks of the policies on the above topics, and the diversity policy applied for management and supervisory bodies;
• Encouraged to rely on recognized frameworks such as GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, OECD Guidelines, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26000 and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Tripartite Declaration.
The Directive introduces measures that will strengthen the transparency and accountability of approximately 6000 companies in the EU. These so-called ‘public interest entities’* with more than 500 employees will be:
• Required to report on environmental, social and employee-related, human rights, anti-corruption and bribery matters;
• Required to describe their business model, outcomes and risks of the policies on the above topics, and the diversity policy applied for management and supervisory bodies;
• Encouraged to rely on recognized frameworks such as GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, OECD Guidelines, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26000 and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Tripartite Declaration.
The NFR Directive (non-financial reporting) is expected to enter into force in autumn (following its publication in the EU Official Journal). Member states will have two years to transpose it into national laws, and it is expected that the first company reports will be published in 2018 (financial year 2017-2018).
“This marks the beginning of an exciting era. It is now time to look forward and focus on the implementation of the Directive and beyond. We are proud to have played a central role in the development of the Directive and we look forward to continuing our participation”, added Teresa Fogelberg.
*Art. 2 of the 2013 Accounting Directive defines 'public-interest entities' as: listed companies, credit institutions, insurance undertakings, and others defined by Member States as public-interest entities.
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