EU supply chain law - after the vote is before the vote

At the end of last week, the majority of MEPs voted in favor of the compromise text of the Legal Affairs Committee on the Corporate Sustainablity Due Diligence Directive (EU Supply Chain Act). But even though there was a clear majority...

BOARD Magazine: The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive - more support instead of liability (in German)

In an article for BOARD - Zeitschrift für Aufsichtsräte in Deutschland, Dr. Christine Bortenlänger, Managing Director of Deutsches Aktieninstitut, and Dr. Uta-Bettina von Altenbockum, Head of Communications and Sustainability, discuss...

New technical screening criteria for the EU taxonomy: Postponement needed

On the occasion of the EU Commission's consultation on the technical screening criteria for environmental goals three to six of the EU Taxonomy, we call for a postponement of the enter into force of the Delegated Acts for new activities...

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive must tighten up value chain (in German)

Ahead of the Legal Affairs Committee's vote on its position on the draft European supply chain law (Corporate Sustainabilitiy Due Diligence Directive), Deutsches Aktieninstitut appeals to the European legislator to narrowly define the...

Table ESG: Strengthening the position of companies in the area of sustainability (in German)

In an interview with Nils Wischmeyer, Dr. Uta-Bettina von Altenbockum talks about Deutsches Aktieninstitut's work in the area of sustainability and her new position as head of the department. In the interview, she criticizes the high...

Limit value chain and implement risk-based approach

Der Richtlinienentwurf zur Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), den die EU-Kommission im Februar 2022 veröffentlicht hat, hat für viel Aufmerksamkeit gesorgt. Die Berichterstatterin des federführenden...

Greenwashing: Consultation of the European Supervisory Authorities is premature

In our contribution on the Call for Evidence of ESMA, EIOPA and EBA, we criticize that no clear picture of potential greenwashing practices can be drawn without corresponding legal requirements. The regulatory framework of sustainable...

European Sustainability Reporting Standards: Reduce reporting requirements and ensure compliance with international standards

The CSRD Directive and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) will significantly change the corporate reporting landscape. In our feedback to the consultation of the Federal Ministry of Justice, we call for the reporting...

Deutsches Aktieninstitut establishes its own sustainability department (in German)

On January 1, 2023, Deutsches Aktieninstitut will introduce a new Sustainability Department. This will join the two existing departments of Law and Capital Markets. The department will be headed by Dr. Uta-Bettina von Altenbockum, who...

European Sustainability Reporting Standards – reducing the scope (in German)

In mid-November, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) will hand over the European sustainability reporting standards to the European Commission. The standards have been developed by the EFRAG Project Taskforce during...

Second Franco-German Corporate Executives and Institutional Investors’ Forum

Considering current geopolitical and global economic developments, the presidents of Afep (Association française des entreprises privées) and Deutsches Aktieninstitut underline the crucial importance of the Franco-German cooperation on...

New IFRS standards in the sustainability reporting: Making a global and consistent sustainability reporting? (in German)

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) of the IFRS Foundation has published the drafts of its first two standards on general requirements for sustainability reporting (IFRS S1) and climate-related reporting (IFRS S2)...

European sustainability standards at risk of becoming a bureaucratic monster (in German)

In its statement on the consultation on European sustainability standards published today, Deutsches Aktieninstitut calls for the standards to be streamlined and more practicable. Furthermore, convergence with the sustainability...

Leaner and more practice-oriented European sustainability standards necessary

We welcome the opportunity to comment on the first set of draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). We fully support the standardization of sustainability reporting in order to provide companies with the right set of...

IFRS Sustainability Standards: Dialogue with EFRAG and EU Commission is urgently needed

At the end of March 2022, the International Sustainability Standards Boards (ISSB), under the umbrella of the IFRS Foundation, published drafts of the sustainability standards on general requirements and climate. We participated in the...

EU Green Bond Standard Needs to Adequately Reflect Corporate Practice

On the agreement in the European Parliament on the proposed EU standard for green bonds: Deutsches Aktieninstitut welcomes to a large part the changes proposed by the European Parliament and the Council. They are welcome step forward...

Climate-related reporting in the US - consistency with ISSB global baseline essential

With reference to the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) consultation on climate-related disclosures, we deem it crucial and indispensable that the international dimension is taken into account in the reporting requirements...

ESG rating agencies should be regulated

With a "targeted consultation", the EU Commission would like to gain a better insight into the functioning of the ESG ratings market. In our response, we point out that companies are confronted with a variety of different methodologies...

Corporate due diligence in supply chains: Balanced and proportionate EU law is needed

In our position paper on the draft Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) we reject the proposed civil liability if companies failed to comply with the due diligence obligations. It is impossible for companies to...

For global and coordinated sustainability standards

French and German companies deem it crucial that they should be involved in the development of future sustainability reporting standards by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). For this reason, the President of...

EU Sustainability Reporting Standards: highlighting concerns on complexity, prioritisation and proportionality

The members of Deutsches Aktieninstitut and its French partner association afep follow closely the developments on the future EU Sustainability Reporting Standards and are highly concerned about the working documents released so far by...

Kurvenlage - Semi-Annual Report of Deutsches Aktieninstitut, Second term 2021 (in German)

Focus: Sustainability

Necessary transfer of ISSB standards into European law

In a joint letter, more than 40 companies have appealed to the Federal Ministers Buschmann and Lindner to advocate for a process in the final negotiations of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) that enables the...

The European draft directive on supply chains overshoots the mark (in German)

German companies are currently in the process of implementing the requirements of the national supply chain due diligence law, which is to be applied from 2023. The EU has now presented a draft directive for an EU supply chain law. New,...

Engel welcomes establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board in Frankfurt (in German)

The President of Deutsches Aktieninstitut, Dr Hans-Ulrich Engel, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the start-up financing of the newly founded International Sustainability Standards Board together with representatives of...

Amendments to the European Green Bond Standard Regulation: An Analysis

The members of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs in the EU Parliament have presented their proposed amendments to the regulation of an EU Green Bond Standard. Very significantly, they aim to regulate the entire European...

REthinking Finance: Without sufficient capital, the sustainability transformation will not succeed!

In the interview, Dr Christine Bortenlänger and Dr Michael Völter, the former CEO of the Stuttgart Stock Exchange, give an overview of the main results of the joint study "Corporate Finance in the Sign of Sustainability - What ESG Means...

CSRD: Endorsement process required for ISSB sustainability standards

In our position paper on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), we call for an endorsement process to integrate the minimum standards of the International Sustainability Standards Board into European sustainability...

BOARD: Sustainability reporting - the next level!

In their contribution to BOARD, Dr. Christine Bortenlänger and Dr. Uta-Bettina von Altenbockum deal with the status quo of sustainability reporting. Although the EU taxonomy has not yet been finalised, the EU is already working on the...

Close cooperation between EFRAG and ISSB crucial for success of sustainability reporting standards (in German)

In April 2021, the EU Commission presented the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The draft provides for the development of European standards for sustainability reporting. Sustainability reporting standards are also...

Frankfurt will become headquarters of the new International Sustainability Standards Board

Deutsches Aktieninstitut welcomes the decision of the IFRS Foundation to locate the International Sustainability Standards Board in Frankfurt. This offers the opportunity to achieve the necessary convergence between international and...

EFRAG Working Paper ‘Climate Standard Prototype’: Too extensive reporting requirements

In our letter to Jean-Paul Gauzès, President of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), we welcome the orientation of the working paper towards existing international frameworks such as the TCFD. On the other hand, we...

Helping the European Green Bond Standard Achieve Global Relevance Companies need legal certainty and more flexibility

Deutsches Aktieninstitut welcomes the proposed voluntary nature for the Regulation on European green bonds (EU GBS) and the intention to ensure its co-existence with existing green bond standards. Furthermore, we support the alignment...

Market-based solutions are key for climate protection (in German)

Ein zentrales Thema im Bundestagswahlkampf 2021 ist der Klimaschutz. Waldbrände in der Türkei und in Kalifornien, Tornados in Tschechien und Ostfriesland, aber vor allem die Flutkatastrophe an Ahr und Erft haben uns vor Augen geführt,...

Consultation of the EU Commission on the extension of the EU taxonomy: Await and evaluate experiences with the implementation of the environmental taxonomy first

The Platform on Sustainable Finance's recommendations to establish a social taxonomy and expand the environmental taxonomy to include environmentally harmful and neutral activities are premature at this point. Companies are currently...

International Sustainability Standards Board to Frankfurt (in German)

Deutsches Aktieninstitut and its members support the application of Frankfurt as financial center to host the proposed International Sustainability Standards Board. As one of the leading international financial centers and headquarter...

Going Public: Climate protection: Market-based solutions as the key to success (in German)

The future German government must work to ensure that sustainability rules are target-oriented, practice-oriented and, if possible, internationally uniform. Dr. Uta-Bettina von Altenbockum and Jan Bremer therefore call for...

Sustainability Reporting - Developing an international framework!

In our comments on the Draft EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, we advocate that sustainability reporting should follow a legally secure, consistent, flexible and proportionate framework. Such a framework must be embedded...

Eliminate ambiguities in the application of the requirements from the EU taxonomy

In our letter addressed to the members of the ECON Committee in the EU Parliament, we stress the legal ambiguities that companies are confronted with in the context of the EU taxonomy, as central terms are not specified. Although the...

New Concept of EU Sustainability Reporting must include the Corporate Perspective (in German)

In our comments on the Draft EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, we advocate for including the corporate perspective into the development of new sustainability reporting obligations. A successful transformation process to a...

Börsen-Zeitung: Finance for Future? – The framework has to be right (in German)

In their guest article, Dr. Christine Bortenlänger, Managing Director of Deutsches Aktieninstitut, and Dr. Michael Völter, Chairman of the Executive Board of Vereinigung Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse, call for the rules of the...

Support offered for work on EU sustainability reporting standard (in German)

In order to enable globally operating companies to efficiently report on sustainability, Deutsches Aktieninstitut calls for the planned EU standard to be aligned with international requirements and standards. The member companies of...

Corporate finance and sustainability. What ESG means in practice for finance managers (in German)

The market for green financing is booming. Many companies are already using esg instruments for their investments in environmentally and climate-friendly technologies.Together with the Stuttgart stock exchange, we asked financial...

Corporate financing in the context of sustainability (in German)

Limit the supply chain to direct suppliers

In our statement on the government draft on corporate due diligence in supply chains, we argue that the law should be manageable for companies and it should be implementable in corporate practice. This is the only way to achieve the...

Reporting obligations of the Taxonomy Regulation - application date has to be changed

In a letter to EU Commissioner McGuiness, we plead for a postponement of the application date of the reporting obligations to the Taxonomy Regulation. According to Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation, companies are required to report...

Deutsches Aktieninstitut comments on Interim Report of German Sustainable Finance Council (in German)

On the occasion of the consultation of the German Federal Government Sustainable Finance Council’s Interim Report, Deutsches Aktieninstitut has criticized a lack of confidence in market-economical solutions when it comes to the...

EU taxonomy: Ensure practicability (in German)

On the occasion of the trilogue negotiations on the EU taxonomy, Deutsches Aktieninstitut expressed its concerns regarding the design of the taxonomy in a letter to the Permanent Representation of Germany to the European Union....

Sustainability and corporate governance: no new regulation (in German)

On the occasion of the consultation on Sustainable Corporate Governance held by the EU Commission, Deutsches Aktieninstitut expressed its concerns about the consultation questionnaire and the consultation procedure in a letter to DG...

Deutsches Aktieninstitut calls for a practice-oriented design of the EU taxonomy (in German)

In the framework of the hearing of the Finance Committee of the German Bundestag, Deutsches Aktieninstitut commented on Sustainable Finance. The complexity of the planned taxonomy specifications will present companies in the financial...

Deutsches Aktieninstitut participates in consultation on German Sustainability Code (in German)

In the context of the revision of the German Sustainability Code (DNK), Deutsches Aktieninstitut opposes additional reporting and documentation requirements for companies. When defining materiality, flexibility and proportionality...

ESG from the perspective of institutional investors – what listed companies should know

Institutional investors increasingly integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) into the assessment of business and strategy of portfolio companies. This trend is documented in this survey conducted by Deutsches Aktieninstitut...

Sustainability Becoming Mainstream for Investors

Besides the usual financial criteria, environmental and social topics, as well as corporate governance, are becoming ever more important to institutional investors when valuing companies and making investment decisions. A study released...

Sustainable Finance Taxonomy: Deutsches Aktieninstitut again raises concerns

After the European Parliament’s decision to postpone the joint vote of the ECON and ENVI committees on the EU Commission’s proposal for a sustainable finance taxonomy, Deutsches Aktieninstitut has again hinted the Committee-members at...

Kurvenlage - Semi-Annual Report of Deutsches Aktieninstitut, Second Term 2017 (in German)

Focus: Sustainability

No Going beyond the Requirements of the CSR-Directive

The Deutsche Aktieninstitutwelcomes the opportunity to comment the issue finches for the non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting. The Commission is supposed to present the guidelines in order to facilitate the disclosure of...

German minister Peter Altmaier calls for stable conditions for investors in energy infrastructure (in German)