10 Amendments of Frances FITZGERALD related to 2021/0104(COD)
Amendment 44 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 b (new)
Recital 2 b (new)
(2 b) Studies showing that companies which take into account diversity in their board and management composition may e.g. improve the quality of their leadership and decision-making - especially in relation to performance on sustainability issues - should be welcomed. Diversity must be perceived as a tool of EU innovation, competitiveness and business potential. In this regard, efforts already made by companies to diversify boards and management should be welcomed. Equally, efforts made by public and private funds which implement diversity policies should also be welcomed. Notes in this regard the initiative Diversity Commitment, which is the first initiative in the world, where private funds have committed themselves to measuring and tracking representation on gender and to reporting annually and publicly on their findings.
Amendment 45 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 c (new)
Recital 2 c (new)
(2 c) Additional EU funding should be reserved for research into the topic of diversity, company management, business development, innovation and sustainability. Such research should look broadly at characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, culture, age, disability, professional experience and education to fully grasp all sides to diversity in the companies’ boards and management.
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 d (new)
Recital 2 d (new)
(2 d) The association of the upcoming sustainable corporate governance initiative - which has now twice been given a ‘red light ’by the Commission’s internal Regulatory Scrutiny Board - with this directive on corporate sustainability reporting should be carefully examined. Thus, companies should not be obliged to report on their plans to tackle issues related to this initiative.
Amendment 51 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) The ultimate beneficiaries of better sustainability reporting by undertakings are individual citizens and savers. Savers who want to invest sustainably will have the opportunity to do so, while all citizens should benefit from a stable, sustainable and inclusive economic system. To realise these benefits, the sustainability information disclosed in undertaking’s annual reports first has to reach two primary groups (‘users’). The first group of users consists of investors, including asset managers, who want to better understand the risks and opportunities that sustainability issues pose to their investments and the impacts of those investments on people (including to advance societal issues such as gender equality and diversity) and the environment. The second group of users consists of organisations, including non- governmental organisations and social partners, and other stakeholders that wish to better hold undertakings to account for their impacts on people and the environment. Other stakeholders may also make use of sustainability information disclosed in annual reports. The business partners of undertakings, including customers, may rely on this information to understand, and where necessary report on, the sustainability risks and impacts through their own value chains. Policy makers and environmental agencies may use such information, in particular on an aggregate basis, to monitor environmental and social trends, to contribute to environmental accounts, and to inform public policy. Few individual citizens and consumers directly consult undertaking’s reports, but they may use such information indirectly such as when considering the advice or opinions of financial advisers or non-governmental organisations. Many investors and asset managers purchase sustainability information from third party data providers, who collect information from various sources, including public corporate reports.
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18 b (new)
Recital 18 b (new)
(18 b) Underlines that companies should be able to focus on reporting information about those aspects of sustainability, including gender equality and diversity, which are 1) most relevant to the company, with regard to e.g. sector and size and 2) their user groups, e.g. customers or investors.
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 35
Recital 35
(35) Sustainability reporting standards should be coherent with other Union legislation, which address the subjects touched upon in this directive. Those standards should in particular be aligned with the disclosure requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) 2019/2088, and they should take account of underlying indicators and methodologies set out in the various delegated acts adopted pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2020/852, disclosure requirements applicable to benchmark administrators pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council55 , the minimum standards for the construction of EU climate transition benchmarks and EU Paris- aligned benchmarks; and of any work carried out by the European Banking Authority in the implementation of the Pillar III disclosure requirements of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013. Standards should take account of Union environmental legislation, including Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council56 and Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council57 , and should take account of Commission Recommendation 2013/179/EU58 and its annexes, and their updates. Other relevant Union legislation, including Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council59 , and requirements laid down in Union law for undertakings as regards directors’ duties and due diligence, should also be taken into account. Underlines that international sustainability standards exist and are currently being developed and improved. As far as international standards are sufficient, European standards should be aligned to minimize administrative burdens and strengthen seamless free- trade in and outside FTA’s. This should include alignment with international reporting standards on social issues, such as gender and diversity profile of the company. _________________ 55 Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds and amending Directives 2008/48/EC and 2014/17/EU and Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (OJ L 171, 29.6.2016, p. 1). 56 Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32). 57 Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS), repealing Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 and Commission Decisions 2001/681/EC and 2006/193/EC (OJ L 342, 22.12.2009, p. 1). 58 Commission Recommendation 2013/179/EU of 9 April 2013 on the use of common methods to measure and communicate the life cycle environmental performance of products and organisations (OJ L 124, 4.5.2013, p. 1). 59 Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17).
Amendment 106 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Directive 2013/34/EU
Article 19b – paragraph 2 –– point b
Article 19b – paragraph 2 –– point b
(i) equal opportunities for all, including gender equality (gender profile) and equal pay for equal work, training and skills development, and employment and inclusion of people with disabilities;
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Directive 2013/34/EU
Article 19b – paragraph 2 –– point b
Article 19b – paragraph 2 –– point b
(i a) Underlines that concepts, which companies are to report about, should be sufficiently defined in the directive to ensure compliance and lessen the administrative burden as well as the comparability of data. This goes for all relevant concepts, including e.g. “gender equality”.
Amendment 119 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Directive 2013/34/EU
Article 19b – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – point c – point i
Article 19b – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – point c – point i
(i) the role of the undertaking’s administrative, management and supervisory bodies, including with regard to sustainability matters, and their composition as well as the gender profile of the undertaking;
Amendment 124 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Directive 2013/34/EU
Article 19b – paragraph 2
Article 19b – paragraph 2
(v a) Where relevant, it is important to ensure that the information which undertakings are to disclose about social factors (including gender and diversity as elements of social factors) and governance factors, as outlined above, is in coherence with other requirements in the Accounting Directive by allowing reporting to be part of the corporate governance statement or the general management report, in accordance with article 19 and 20 of the Accounting Directive;