Minimum Safeguards - How companies can implement the EU sustainability criteria

With the EU taxonomy, it will be easier in future to evaluate companies according to their ecological actions and to derive investment decisions from them, for example. It is a green classification system that is intended to translate the climate and environmental goals of the European Union into criteria for ecologically sustainable economic activities.

Economic activities are recognised as environmentally friendly or ecologically sustainable if they make a significant contribution to at least one of the EU's six climate and environmental objectives, do not significantly harm any of these goals and meet minimum social standards (minimum safeguards). Even after the first year of full reporting on the first two environmental objectives of the EU taxonomy, the implementation of the framework remains a challenge for the companies concerned.

In recent months, we have discussed the implementation possibilities of the requirements for minimum safeguards with our clients, in our teams and with other stakeholders, both in the advisory business and in the context of non-financial audits. We have compiled the findings from these discussions in our white paper "Minimum Safeguards".

In it, we focus on frequently asked questions of interpretation around the scope of implementation and the practical design of the minimum safeguards requirements of the EU taxonomy. For example, we discuss which subject areas and which parts of the value chain need to be considered, or what depth and design the underlying due diligence processes should have depending on the subject area. In addition, we also address the regulatory context and the time factor in implementation. We thus show affected companies possible synergy potentials and enable holistic preparation.

We would also like to provide you with these practical guidelines for the application of the EU taxonomy. We look forward to your feedback and the exchange of insights from your practice.

Here you can download the white paper "Minimum Safeguards":