EFRAG calls for financial advisory panel members

June 22, 2023

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is seeking candidates for three advisory bodies to help develop sustainability reporting standards for the financial sector.

The bodies are being established to advise EFRAG’s sustainable reporting technical expert group on the development and maintenance of the European Sustainability reporting standards (ESRS) for financial institutions, while contributing to sector-specific insight to EFRAG’s sustainability reporting activity.

The panels being formed are the SR Banking Advisory Panel, SR Capital Markets Advisory Panel, and SR Insurance Advisory Panel. Professionals from these markets have been encouraged to apply.

The groups will begin their work by providing value chain guidance for these sectors based on the requirements in the sector-agnostic ESRS as published by the European Commission on 9 June 2023.

The panels will be made up of around 20 members, will meet at least six times a year (including twice in person), and their activities will start in September. 

The application deadline is 31 July.

This comes on the back of the European Commission publishing updated proposals for the ESRS earlier this month, under the EU’s new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

With a view to easing the reporting burden on companies, the phase-in time for many of these ESRS has been extended.

For example, smaller companies with under 750 employees – now under the remit of the newly-widened ESRS for the first time – will have a year’s grace before having to disclose Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, the Commission converted several data points – such as biodiversity transition plans and visibility over non-employees in a firm’s workforce – from mandatory to voluntary reporting requirements.

This isn’t the only area where the EU has been building out its ESG oversight framework.

Also this month, the Commission introduced new rules that would see ESG rating providers come under regulation by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).