Post by account_disabled on Mar 4, 2024 3:19:57 GMT -5
The end of the financial year is approaching and many companies are thinking, often with a headache, about how to write the required EINF (Non-Financial Information Statement) and what they can include in it (and how). Spanish law establishes , for example, that companies (or groups of them) that have more than 250 workers and that for two consecutive years have had more than 20 million euros of assets or a net turnover greater than 40 million of euros, must inform society of their social and environmental impact, that is, their "ESG performance" (Environmental, Social and Governance). That is: they must report what measures they have implemented on environmental and social issues, staff working conditions, respect for human rights in their value chain, the fight against corruption and bribery, etc. The topic is not trivial. Companies are very important players in the market and their actions create (or destroy) value. Economic, of course, but also social and environmental. With its productive processes; its pricing and salary policy; Your way and style of relationship with clients, employees and suppliers, etc., can cause harm, prevent it, benefit some of your interest groups or contribute to the solution of some social challenge.
And now, by legal imperative, they must, in a rigorous and transparent manner, be accountable to society for their social and environmental impact. CTA Post A more standardized and transparent way to measure social and environmental impact Does this Non-Financial Information Statement differ much from the voluntary Europe Mobile Number List report on issues of corporate social and environmental responsibility ? The simple and forceful answer is yes. Yes, first of all, because it is now mandatory compared to the previous voluntariness. Yes, secondly, because the EINF has more or less standardized and regulated content for social impact, through the so-called ESRS standards (European Sustainability Reporting Standards , approved in August 2023 and which come into force). January 1, 2024 for some companies (large companies, banks and insurance companies) and successively for others (January 1, 2025, for large companies that are not currently subject to the directive; January 1, 2026 , for listed small or medium.
Because the EINF refers to the core of the company's activities and not to any social support activity. And finally, yes because the social and environmental impact requires mandatory verification by a third party. In this sense, it is a process parallel to that of financial (accounting) information, which also follows standardized criteria and standards, which refers to the main activity of the company and which, in many cases, requires a signed audit. These European standards in sustainability reporting, by the way, come in some way to replace or, at least, to complement, other voluntary standards that, until now, have been operating in the market ( GRI , Global Compact , etc.). Public information on social and environmental impact The question then lies in how to demonstrate, with measurable and verifiable data, that companies do no harm or, where appropriate, contribute to environmental and social improvement. In this sense, the European standards on social and environmental responsibility as a binding framework for the presentation of these reports publicly provide relevant information on the impacts, risks and opportunities based on metrics in accordance with two transversal standards, five focused on the environment, others.