I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 19 together.
The current requirements under company law for large companies with more than 500 employees to disclose information on their environmental performance are contained in the European Union (Disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 360 of 2017), as amended. The Regulations, which are managed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, are underpinned by non-binding guidelines for disclosure prepared by the EU Commission.
As one of the actions under the European Green Deal, to enhance further the disclosure by companies on climate and environmental data, the EU Commission initiated a review of the Directive. A proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive was published on 21 April 2021. Further details on the EU Commission proposal are available on their website. https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/210421-sustainable-finance-communication_en#csrd.
The proposal will revise the existing Directive and includes in its scope all large companies and listed SMEs, except microenterprises. It is also proposed that the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group, will be responsible for developing new standards for EU sustainability reporting. The final proposal will be subject to agreement between European Parliament and Council.
I launched a consultation in March 2021 on the Climate Action Plan 2021 which will identify the policies and measures needed to deliver on the increased climate ambition in the Programme for Government. The consultation included an expert call for evidence seeking data-based technical proposals to support the development of the plan. This includes questions on the decarbonisation of the enterprise sector. The preparation of the plan itself will allow for consideration of the measurement of emissions in the enterprise sector.