475 businesses and investors urge the EU to uphold strong sustainability rules in the Omnibus package, warning that weakening them risks competitiveness and investor confidence.
Read the statement here.
As Members of the European Parliament prepare Parliament’s position and debate sweeping changes to the EU’s sustainability framework, 475 businesses, investors and supporting organisations have come together to defend Europe’s leadership on sustainable finance. The main message: weakening the EU’s sustainability rules risks undermining competitiveness, investor certainty and long-term growth. This joint effort brings together companies and financial institutions – the users and implementers of the EU sustainability framework – to reaffirm the value of stable, coherent and meaningful rules.
The statement outlines five clear recommendations to preserve the integrity of the EU’s sustainability legislation while simplifying its implementation:
- Double materiality reporting across all Environmental, Social and Governance topics and ensuring interoperability with international standards and frameworks including GRI, ISSB and TNFD.
- A meaningful CSRD scope covering companies with 500+ employees.
- Flexibility in value chain information exchange beyond the value chain cap that would limit information to a VSME standard, which is not adapted and was designed for micro-companies and SMEs.
- A requirement to adopt and implement credible climate transition plans, and
- Risk-based due diligence under the CSDDD.
Quotes on the statement:
Carine de Boissezon, Chief Impact Officer, EDF
"The EU, thanks to the Green Deal, is ten years ahead in the green industrial revolution. What is at stake is our health, the competitiveness of our businesses, our well-being and our sovereignty. Where there is room for smart simplification, let's tweak the regulation, but we need to stay the course and be proud of it to assert our leadership, our standards, our vision. If not us, who? If not now, when? When there is a will, there is a way!"
Alice K. Steenland, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, Signify
"At Signify, we are committed to ensuring that the transformative power of light contributes positively to the environment around us. That’s why we’ve joined others in urging the EU to preserve the integrity of its sustainable finance framework – a vital structure for driving accountability and accelerating action on climate. One year after launching our Climate Transition Plan, we are making strong progress and remain committed to leading by example."
Anke Ehlers, Managing Director for International Sustainability, ALDI SOUTH GROUP
"The ALDI SOUTH Group supports strong and harmonized EU sustainability rules, which is why it is vital that the core of the CSRD and CSDDD is preserved. Sustainability rules are not red tape. They are the foundation for long-term competitiveness and for the transition to a sustainable, thriving economy. Shared standards create trust, give customers and investors confidence, and ensure that businesses compete on a level playing field".
Annika Ramsköld, VP Sustainabilty, Vattenfall
"At Vattenfall, we have chosen a sustainable business model not because someone tells us to do it but because it will make us competitive in the future. Not everyone has realized this yet, but this is all about Europe’s competitiveness. We need a stable and predictable political framework that promotes transparency and enables companies to identify their risks and opportunities that will make us competitive not only now but also in the future.”
Tsvetelina Kuzmanova, EU Sustainable Finance Policy Lead, CISL
“The current political trajectory in the European Parliament risks taking us at least a decade backwards. The proposed changes fall below the standards already adopted by leading companies and investors, undermining the progress made in aligning sustainability with business strategy. The promised competitiveness compass is starting to look like swapping GPS for a paper map. What businesses require is a forward-looking framework that reflects market realities, supports innovation, and strengthens Europe’s global competitiveness.”
Disclaimer: The statement is coordinated by the Corporate Leaders Group Europe (CLG Europe), European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif), Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and E3G.