Prepare to be dazzled

Há tanta coisa a aparecer nos jornais por estes dias e relevante para o mundo empresarial.

A sensação é de que à boleia de algum wokismo institucional está-se a condenar as PMEs a terem de responder como os agricultores, talvez daqui a 2 anos quando começarem a perceber as multas e as inspecções a sucederem-se.

Já ouviram falar da CSRD?

Não? Façam como eu, perguntem ao ChatGPT:

"The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is a significant legislative development in the European Union that came into force on January 5, 2023. It modernizes and strengthens the rules regarding the social and environmental information companies must report. The CSRD expands the scope of companies that must comply with these reporting requirements to include a broader set of large companies and listed SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises).

The directive mandates that companies disclose various information related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects. These include environmental disclosures like climate change mitigation and adaptation, pollution, and biodiversity; social and human rights disclosures such as gender equality and working conditions; and governance disclosures that cover the management of sustainability matters and risk management.

One notable aspect of the CSRD is its emphasis on aligning business models and strategies to limit global warming to 1.5 °C, in line with the Paris Agreement. Companies must also disclose their due diligence processes in sustainability matters, including actions to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts on their operations or value chain.

The CSRD also introduces assurance obligations, requiring companies to obtain third-party assurance over their disclosures. Initially, this will be "limited" assurance, but by 2028, it is planned to adopt standards for more comprehensive assurance.

The CSRD will be implemented in phases, starting with companies already subject to the EU’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) for fiscal years beginning January 1, 2024. Other large companies, listed SMEs, and non-EU companies falling within the CSRD’s scope will follow in subsequent years.

The detailed disclosure requirements are being developed as European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and will be adopted by the European Commission."

Esta semana perguntei a uma pessoa do mundo da Contabilidade se já tinha olhado para Sustainability regulation outlook 2024

Já agora, no FT de ontem li "Green audits are coming for a firm near you":

"Green activists never used to attack accountants. No wonder: bean counters' work seems dull compared with oil drillers or flamboyant bankers.

But last week the IFRS, a doughty global accounting standards body, experienced a "first": protesters stormed its New York meeting as Brian Moynihan, chief executive of Bank of America, was opining on green audit rules. Yes, really.

And while that particular drama was shortlived, it highlights a wider fight now hanging over corporate boards. For even as right-wing politicians, such as former US president Donald Trump, decry "woke" activists, some regulators are tightening green reporting rules."

And the EU is now introducing a new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive that is arguably even tougher. This demands disclosure about emissions from companies' core operations and energy suppliers (so-called scope 1 and scope 2 emissions) and wider supply chain (so-called scope 3 reports).

Since few companies provide such details now, the new directive "will significantly expand the scope of ESG disclosure required of us", as Goldman Sachs noted this month, echoing a widely held sentiment." 

Entretanto no passado dia 23 de Fevereiro foi introduzida uma emenda nas ISO 9001 e ISO 14001 que torna difícil às PMEs fugirem disto, mesmo não estando na bolsa. 

Num discurso, "Opening remarks by Commissioner McGuinness at the European Parliament plenary debate on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive" li:

"The final text of the Directive provides a good basis for alignment with the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which is currently in trilogues.

The text also addresses the particular situation of SMES.

And there are provisions to prevent SMEs in supply chains from being unduly burdened by "trickledown" information requests from larger companies."

Pois, basta pesquisar no semanário Expresso as vezes que li que os bancos serão pressionados a só emprestarem às empresas que reportam segundo a CSRD.