MATERIALITY response pdf file:
MATERIALITY_feedback_Taxonomy_Environmental_delegated_act_2023-04.pdf
We took part in the European Commission's consultation on the draft Environmental Delegated Act to Taxonomy. This is an important consultation, because if the Commission's proposed projects go into effect unchanged, they will cut off access to sustainable financing for several important industries in the economy. Make your comments too!
The sectors in question are furniture, food and beverage, apparel and footwear. The Sustainable Finance Platform made recommendations for criteria for these sectors last year. The Commission's draft does not include criteria for these several industries. As a result, the companies belonging to them:
- will not be able to demonstrate the extent to which their operations are environmentally sustainable
- will be excluded from the portfolio of balanced investment funds based on the criteria for compliance with the Taxonomy
- will not be able to issue European Green Bonds and will effectively lose access to green credits.
The Commission did not explain why it went against the Platform's recommendation for these industries specifically. And at the same time, in parallel other consultations, the Commission proposed extremely liberal criteria to recognize aviation as an environmentally sustainable industry (making a significant contribution to combating climate change). A draft of these criteria was not developed by the Platform.
It may soon be that an industry contributing to the worsening climate crisis (aviation) will enjoy easy access to sustainable financing, while the sectors (furniture, food and beverage, apparel and footwear) rapidly transforming toward a closed-loop economy will lack this access.
The Commission's consultation runs until May 3. There is still time for you to take part and express your opinion on the regulator's proposed projects. Link to consultation form.
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