September 7, 2022
The European Commission’s recent report on its consultation on ESG data/ratings providers points out the following:
• More than 80% of industry respondents — ESG ratings providers, users, and companies rated — favor EU regulatory intervention in their industry
• They strongly support multiple different regulatory goals, including improving transparency on the methodologies used by ESG ratings providers (90%+), avoiding potential conflicts of interest (80%), and improving ESG ratings reliability and comparability (73%)
• A strong majority (82%) favor a registration/authorization regime for ESG ratings providers
• Almost all (97%) support disclosure requirements for ESG ratings providers about their methodologies, with most favoring the use of standardized templates
The Commission expects to adopt an initiative in Q1 of 2023, according to its timeline.