EFRAG’s Project Task Force on European Sustainability Reporting Standards (PTF-ESRS) has published four more working papers on its draft sustainability reporting standards.

This latest move marks the fifth batch of papers the task force has released. They deal with four topics spread across social matters and governance.

The release of the papers does not form part of any public consultation at this stage. The EFRAG has yet to signal when it plans to consult on the draft standards.

The project came into being on 25 June 2020 when the European Commission (EC) issued a request for technical advice in which it instructed EFRAG to begin preparatory work for the possible development of EU non-financial reporting standards in a revised Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD).

In April last year, the EC adopted the legislative proposal for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

If the European Union decides to go ahead with the development of its own sustainability standards, the PTF-ESRS’s existing standard-setting work will pass to EFRAG’s sustainability reporting bodies.

Earlier this month EFRAG announced the composition of its Sustainability Reporting Board, which will be responsible for EFRAG’s sustainability reporting positions, including technical advice to the EC on draft EU sustainability reporting standards and amendments to them. Tegwen Le Berthe, head of ESG scoring and methodology at Amundi, has been selected as the asset manager representative on the board. 

The latest PTF-ESRS working papers deal with working conditions, equal opportunities, governance, risk management and internal control, and business conduct.

A full history of the workstream, the PTF-ESRS and its precursor, the PTF-NFRS, or Project Task Force on Non-Financial Reporting Standards, is available on the EFRAG website.

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