Today, the European Commission published the final report and recommendations of the High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (HLEG). The HLEG, set up by the European Commission in December 2016, was given the task of developing recommendations to deliver an overarching and comprehensive EU strategy on sustainable finance, by integrating sustainability into EU financial policy.
Will Oulton, Chairman of Eurosif and Global Head of RI at First State Investments commented, “The HLEG’s mandate was challenging however with the support of the Commission, the group has developed a comprehensive set of recommendations that can make huge strides in advancing sustainable investment across Europe to the benefit of investors and wider society. Eurosif is looking forward to working with the Commission to deliver on the recommendations published today”
Flavia Micilotta, Eurosif Executive Director and member of the HLEG says “It was an honour to work with such a group of professionals on this ambitious task which will have strong reverberations in Europe and beyond. The set of recommendations spelled out in this report are the product of much hard work and careful analysis to ingrain sustainability in finance: the long-term ambition of Eurosif and its members. In the months to come, Eurosif will demonstrate its value in helping these recommendations take shape”.
The report addresses issues that are core to Eurosif’s work and mission including: mismatched time horizons, duties and obligations of investors and enhanced material disclosure for issuers and investors. Drawing from the considerations that already shaped the HLEG Interim Report and the European Commission public consultation which followed, this report centres around a set of recommendations which look at several themes central to Eurosif’s work on how to empower and connect citizens with sustainable finance, improve the level of clarity on SRI products and what they can deliver, upgrading disclosure rules to ensure that climate change risks and opportunities are fully transparent.
