"Sustainability: businesses interests must align with society’s interests", 17 Dec 2020

Parliament wants upcoming corporate governance proposals from the Commission to include a series of mandatory obligations for companies and incentives to act rather than rely on the voluntary disclosure of information. A clear set of rules strengthening the duties of company boards regarding sustainability is also needed. The report was adopted with 347 votes in favour, 307 against and 42 abstentions.

Disclosing non-financial information

MEPs welcome the Commission’s commitment to review the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) next year but reiterate their call to widen its scope to cover all listed and non-listed large undertakings established in the EU, including non-EU companies operating in the Union. In particular, they suggest targeting investments and sectors often linked to illegal business activities, e.g. environmental crimes, illegal wildlife trade, corruption or financial crime.

Parliament asserts that existing non-binding guidelines are not enough and calls for a mandatory EU framework to cover a full array of sustainability issues related to non-financial reporting. It should ensure that disclosures are clear, balanced, comparable between companies, verifiable, objective, include time-bound sustainability targets and are publically available via an EU-wide digital platform.

Requirements for company directors

Executive directors play a key role in defining a company’s strategy. MEPs deem it their legal duty to integrate long-term interests and sustainability risks. The Commission should therefore put forward a legislative proposal, which clearly defines their responsibilities when it comes to acting in the long-term interest of the company and society as a whole, as well as that of employees and stakeholders.