Compliance with Guidelines on enforcement of sustainability information progressing gradually in Europe

On 29 April 2025, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published Guidelines on the enforcement of sustainability information, prepared in collaboration with national competent authorities. The guidelines apply to enforcement of sustainability information published from 1 January 2025.

The ESMA Guidelines contain definitions and requirements on, among other things, the objective of enforcement, the enforcement methodology to be followed and the coordination of enforcement within ESMA. Competent authorities must make every effort to comply with these guidelines, and they must notify ESMA whether they comply with the guidelines. The Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) has notified ESMA that it complies with the guidelines.

Compliance with the guidelines is still inconsistent in Europe, as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive has not been implemented in all EU Member States. At present, 15 competent authorities have notified ESMA that they comply with the guidelines and 11 authorities have notified that they will do so once the relevant EU legislation has been transposed into national law. Five authorities are not yet able to comply with the guidelines, for example because their internal processes are not at the level required by the guidelines. More detailed descriptions of the compliance situation of the authorities in different countries can be found here. An assessment of compliance with the guidelines is carried out once a year.

For further information, please contact:

• Nina Lindeman, Senior Specialist, nina.lindeman(at)finanssivalvonta.fi, tel. +358 9 183 5325.