Information required by the European taxonomy - Overview

As anticipated in Disclosing sustainability: methodological note, to which reference should be made, 2022 is the first year of application, in the context of non-financial reporting for FY 2021, of the provisions of Regulation 852/2020²² “on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment”, also known as the European Taxonomy.
The Taxonomy – centred around six environmental objectives, of which the first two, relative to climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation, have already been governed through the adoption of a specific Delegated Act²³ – introduces a single classification system at international level for the identification of environmentally sustainable economic activities, namely those which contribute to the growth of sectors with low carbon emissions and to the decarbonisation process of the highest emitters. The objective of the Taxonomy is to identify the “degree of environmental sustainability” of an investment²⁴, increasing the transparency of the market to the benefit of consumers and investors.
In relation to FY 2021, the companies subject to the regulation must publish a report²⁵ relative to the percentage of economic activities eligible and ineligible for the Taxonomy and the quantitative economic performance indicators (KPIs) – in particular the portions of turnover, capital expenditure (CapEx) and operating expenses (OpEx) – attributable to them²⁶.

²²Official Journal of the European Union, Regulation (EU) 852/2020 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088. The Regulation is implemented through the gradual adoption of Delegated Acts. Publication of the Delegated Acts that will govern the remaining 4 environmental objectives is currently expected by 2022.
²³In particular, the Climate Delegated Act, European Commission, C (2021) 2800 final, 2021, adopted on 4 June 2021 and entering into force on 1 January 2022.
²⁴See also Assonime Circular no. 1 of 19 January 2022, the European Regulation on the taxonomy of environmentally sustainable activities: disclosure requirements for companies.
²⁵The Disclosure Delegated Act, European Commission, C (2021) 4987 final, 2021, adopted in July 2021 and entering into force on 30 December 2021, defined the reporting methods that must be adopted by parties falling within the scope of application of the Regulation.
²⁶The full application of the Regulation, as of 1 January 2023, provides not only for the Taxonomy eligibility assessment of the economic activities managed by the undertaking but also the assessment of the alignment of such activities with the Taxonomy, namely compliance with the technical screening criteria, indicated by the Regulation, for each economic activity, in the relevant Delegated Acts.