New transparency rules in the EU: From 2024, large companies will have to report on their sustainability

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Power generation in Lower Saxony:

Photo: Julian Stratenschulte / dpa

In the future, large companies in the European Union will have to inform consumers about the sustainability of their activities.

Late on Tuesday evening, negotiators from the EU states and the European Parliament agreed on new reporting requirements that will apply to companies from 2024, as the parliament and the French presidency of the EU states announced.

Both sides have yet to formally confirm the agreement.

Specifically, according to Parliament, the new rules should apply to large companies with more than 250 employees and a turnover of 40 million euros.

You would need to know about its effects among other things

• the

  environment

  _

• the

  human rights

• and report the

  social standards

  .

This data should be independently verified and certified.

Companies from outside the EU with an annual turnover of at least €150 million would have to comply with equivalent regulations.

"Financial and sustainability reporting will be on an equal footing, and investors will finally have access to reliable, transparent and comparable data," it said.

According to the Council of the EU States, exceptions should be possible for small and medium-sized companies in a transitional period until 2028.

The CSU MP Angelika Niebler nevertheless complained that the agreement was unsatisfactory for German medium-sized companies.

The fact that small and medium-sized companies listed on the stock exchange "should be obliged to report on sustainability can pose huge challenges for the companies concerned," said Niebler.

»They have to change their processes, hire additional staff and strictly monitor compliance with specifications.

All of this costs our companies a lot of time and money.«

mic/dpa