CSR News - November 2025

👉 Leaked draft reveals major overhaul of EU SFDR framework

A leaked European Commission draft outlines sweeping changes to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), ahead of its formal release on 19 November 2025. The proposal reportedly removes the current definition of “sustainable investment,” replaces entity-level PAI disclosures with simplified exclusion rules and fewer indicators, and introduces three new product categories, including a new “Article 7” label, and a redefined scope for Articles 8 and 9 funds.

Source: EU Commision, 11/08/2025

👉 ESAs propose adding ESG risk into prudential stress‑testing

The ESAs have launched a consultation on incorporating ESG (especially environmental) risks into banking and insurance stress‑test frameworks, signalling that supervisory authorities expect firms to move beyond individual disclosures to system‑wide scenario analysis. Banks and insurers in the EU should prepare for a future where ESG‑stress scenarios become part of capital‑planning and risk‑management.

Source: Green Central Banking, 07/2025

👉 EU delays CSRD delegated acts for non-EU companies

The European Commission has postponed the adoption of delegated acts under the CSRD for non-EU companies, listing them among “non-essential” regulations to be deprioritized. The move pauses the extension of EU sustainability reporting requirements to foreign firms operating in Europe. While presented as an administrative adjustment, the delay signals a broader retreat from the Green Deal’s extraterritorial ambitions. ESG advocates and market participants warn that such deregulation risks undermining the EU’s credibility and leadership in sustainable finance, potentially creating uneven disclosure requirements between EU and global competitors.

Source: Novethic, 10/07/2025

👉 EFRAG highlights SME readiness and barriers to sustainability reporting

EFRAG published a report summarising its symposium on SME sustainability reporting, exploring how disclosure can serve as a strategic tool—improving access to finance and performance. Discussions centred on the VSME Standard’s potential to balance reduced reporting burdens with better comparability, and on capacity-building needs for SMEs across the EU.

Source: EFRAG, 10/01/2025

👉 2026 work programme, European Commission

On October 21, 2025, the European Commission unveiled its 2026 work programme. Entitled “Europe Takes Its Independence,” it emphasizes the Commission’s key priorities for the year 2026. In particular, it reaffirms the continuation of the simplification momentum initiated through the omnibus proposals.

Source: European Commission, 10/21/2025

👉 Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 October 2025 amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards the simplification and strengthening of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

The European Union published on 17 October 2025 a new regulation simplifying and reinforcing the “CBAM” Regulation adopted in 2023. Among the main measures are:

• the lowering of the exemption threshold for CBAM obligations, from €150 per consignment to a threshold of 50 tonnes per year of imported CBAM goods (in net mass). Imports of electricity and hydrogen are not covered by this exemption
• the prohibition on importing CBAM-covered goods without the status of an “Authorised CBAM Declarant"
• the requirement to submit annual declarations on the CBAM Registry 2.0 no later than 30 September of the year following the import year

Source: European Union, 10/17/2025

👉 GRI-CDP mapping

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) published a new mapping that aligns the 2025 CDP corporate questionnaire with the recently released GRI standards on climate change and energy. The aim is to help companies reduce duplication while enhancing the consistency and usefulness of the data shared with stakeholders.

Source: Global Reporting Initiative, 10/21/2025

👉 ISO 17298:2025 Standard - Biodiversity: integration of Biodiversity into organizational strategy and operations - requirements and guidelines

The ISO expert committee published ISO 17298:2025, a new standard on the integration of biodiversity considerations into the strategy and operations of organizations. This standard provides a practical framework to help organizations of all types and sizes analyze their impacts and dependencies on nature, and to take concrete action in this area.

Source: ISO, 10/2025

👉 Public consultation on Scope 2 guidance & Public consultation on consequential accounting methods in the electricity sector - GHG Protocol

The GHG Protocol launched two public consultations, open until December 19, 2025.

• The first consultation concerns an update to the Scope 2 Guidance, ten years after its initial publication in 2015
• The second consultation focuses on consequential accounting methods for estimating avoided emissions resulting from actions within the electricity sector

According to the organization, both updates aim to improve data accuracy, harmonize greenhouse gas reporting methods, and adapt them to evolving electricity production and distribution models in a rapidly changing energy landscape

Source: GHG Protocol, 10/20/2025

👉 Annual report on EU carbon markets - ESMA

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its annual report on the European Union carbon markets. According to the institution, the analysis of 2024 data “did not reveal any significant issues regarding the integrity or transparency of the EU carbon markets.”

The report covers the developments in the primary and secondary markets for EU emission allowances (EUAs) in 2024, based on both regulatory and commercial data.

Source: ESMA, 10/22/2025

👉 European Supervisory Priorities on Reporting - ESMA

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published the new European supervisory priorities on reporting, which, as every year, cover the various components of the annual financial report - financial reporting, sustainability reporting, and the digital format.

These priorities include, in particular, specific recommendations for the preparation of the 2025 sustainability statement.

In a press release dated October 24, the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) drew companies’ attention to these ESMA recommendations and published an unofficial French translation of the supervisory priorities relating to sustainability reporting.

Source: ESMA, 10/14/2025

👉 Factual study on corporate sustainability reporting practices in 2024 - ESMA

Alongside the publication of the new European supervisory priorities, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) also released the results of a factual study on corporate sustainability reporting practices in 2024.

The study examines, in particular, the disclosures made in the context of double materiality assessments and provides insights into enforcement priorities as well as future regulatory improvements.

Source: ESMA, 10/14/2025

👉 Response to EFRAG’s consultation on the revision of ESRS standards - AMF

On October 7, 2025, the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) published its response to EFRAG’s consultation on the simplification of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which had closed on September 29.

In its response, the AMF highlighted several key points of concern, particularly regarding climate reporting and materiality assessment.

Source: AMF, 10/07/2025

👉 Carlyle and CalSTRS launch climate co-investment platform. Carlyle’s AlpInvest Partners and CalSTRS have formed a climate-focused co-investment partnership to expand institutional access to private market opportunities driving the energy transition. The alliance will target decarbonisation, clean infrastructure, and resource efficiency investments, aligning fiduciary goals with long-term sustainability outcomes.

Source : ESG News, 10/07/2025

👉 A $1.3 trillion investor coalition has asked Norway’s Financial Supervisory Authority to review Equinor’s climate disclosures, arguing that its oil and gas expansion contradicts Paris Agreement goals. The group questions whether Equinor’s statements fairly reflect a 1.5 °C pathway, following Sarasin & Partners’ divestment earlier this year.

Source : Net Zero Investor, 09/30/2025

👉 CarbonCutter has published The Nature & Biodiversity Investment Playbook, a practical guide for private equity professionals willing to integrate nature-related considerations into investment strategies. It includes 20 expert insights, benchmarks of biodiversity-focused funds and methodologies, and actionable recommendations for ESG integration.

Source : Carbon Cutter, 09/2025

👉 MSCI has unveiled its Biodiversity Risks Screen to help investors assess portfolio-level exposure to biodiversity loss. Developed by MSCI’s Climate Risk Center using IPBES-based mapping, the framework identifies corporate activities degrading ecosystems and quantifies associated physical and transition risks for index construction and portfolio management.

Source : MSCI, 10/2025

👉 At its 2025 Annual Meeting in Kigali, ISO unveiled ISO 17298 — the world’s first international standard for organisations to measure, manage, and act on biodiversity. Developed with experts from 60+ countries, it aligns with TNFD, SDGs, and the Kunming–Montreal Framework, helping companies and public bodies integrate biodiversity into strategy and finance.

Source : ESG News, 10/09/2025

👉 The UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), launched in 2021 under UNEP-FI to drive banks’ carbon-neutral transition, has announced it will cease operations. Amid weakening political and market support in Europe and the US, member banks voted to end the initiative, opting for a looser, non-membership-based framework while retaining NZBA guidelines as a voluntary reference.

Source : L'Info Durable, 10/06/2025

👉 EDCI adds cybersecurity to its metric set

Source : New Private Markets, 10/16/2025

👉 A major new report by the Forests & Finance Coalition shows banks and investors poured ~US$493 b into transition‑mineral mining (2016‑24), mostly in biodiversity‑sensitive zones, with weak ESG safeguards, a red flag for nature‑risk monitoring.

Source : The Guardian, 09/2025

👉 9 out of 10 companies integrate climate considerations into their accounts.

Source : DAF Mag, 10/16/2025

👉 French companies rank third worldwide in terms of CSR

Source : Ecovadis, 11/11/2025

👉 A joint BCG and EcoVadis study warns that large companies could face up to €430 billion a year in costs by 2030 if they fail to tackle Scope 3 emissions. Neglecting supplier-related decarbonisation threatens both profitability and resilience to climate risks.

Source: Novethic, 11/04/2025

👉 The IIGCC’s Forests and Sustainable Land Use Deforestation Assessment (FSDA) marks key milestones as all participants have now assessed and disclosed deforestation risks. Despite progress, deforestation remains a systemic challenge. The initiative will evolve into the Deforestation Investor Group (DIG) platform in January 2026 to sustain investor engagement.

Source: IIG CC, 11/03/2025