Sustainability and environmental protection play an ever-increasing role in our society – this also applies to the financial industry. With the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), which came into force on March 10, 2021, the EU has taken another important step towards making the market fit for the future. The aim of the regulation is to support the United Nations' sustainability goals for capital investment. These sustainability goals cover all sustainability factors such as environmental and social compatibility, but also respect for human rights and the fight against corruption and bribery. It applies to financial market participants and financial advisors and imposes binding requirements. But what does this mean for companies in scope? And how can compliance with the new regulations be ensured throughout the company?

Corporate and sustainability strategy: focus on disclosure requirements

At its core, the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation governs the disclosure obligations of financial market participants and financial advisors regarding the consideration of sustainability factors in their strategies, processes and products. Companies should consider the following in particular:

  • Review your corporate strategy for the inclusion of sustainability risks.
  • Provide information on your homepage about compliance with the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and your own sustainability strategy. This also applies if you do not pursue your own strategy. In this case, explain the reasons why sustainability factors are not taken into account.
  • Inform your customers to what extent sustainability risks are taken into account in your company's compensation policy.
  • Update the disclosed information regularly. In addition, ensure that all marketing concepts and content are in line with the information given on sustainability and adjust them if necessary.
  • Train your employees in a target group-oriented manner and on a regular basis about the requirements of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and their practical relevance.

Professional training for consistent implementation throughout the company

To ensure that the requirements of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation are implemented consistently throughout the company, comprehensive training measures play a paramount role. This is the only way to ensure that information and disclosure requirements of the regulation are met and that there are no contradictions in the content communicated. However, in times of home office, conventional training concepts quickly reach their limits here. In addition, it has proven effective to take current best practice into account when designing the content of training courses. Modular e-learning enables you to address the specific needs of participants and present content in multimedia form. In combination with professional training methods such as story-telling or gamification, even complex topics such as the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation can be presented in a clear and easy-to-understand manner. Security-Island has developed such an e-learning on the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, which is not only flexible to implement, but can also be provided in multiple languages.