The services of the European Commission have launched an online public consultation on the changes of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) to require large companies to include sustainability information in their annual public reporting.

Companies are required to disclose information with respect to four sustainability issues: environment, social and employee issues, human rights, and bribery and corruption.

As set out in the European Green Deal Communication, the Commission will review the NFRD as part of the strategy to strengthen the foundations for sustainable investment. The feedback received through the online public consultation will feed into this review.

The consultation is open to the public and will be available in all official EU languages until 11 June 2020.

A webinar will be organised on 11 May to take stock of the current NFRD review and reflect upon how its reform could enhance transparency and access to consistent non-financial information from companies. This would permit sustainability-related risks, environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to be clearly factored into investment decisions. This underpins the EU’s ambition to create a sustainable and resilient economic recovery post COVID, which will address climate risks, environmental degradation, and human rights violations across global value chains.