Information required by the European taxonomy - Overview

As noted in Communicating Sustainability - Methodological Note, to which reference should be made, 2024 marked the third year of application, in the context of non-financial reporting for 2023, of the provisions introduced by the “European Taxonomy” approved with Regulation 2020/852²⁴ and included in the the Sustainable Finance Action Plan (SFAP) launched by the European Commission in 2018²⁵. The objective of the Taxonomy is to identify the “degree of environmental sustainability” of an investment²⁶, increasing the trans- parency of the market to the benefit of consumers and investors.
The Taxonomy is centred on six environmental goals — climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, transition to a circular economy, including waste reduction and recycling, pollution prevention and control, and protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems — and introduces an international classification system to identify environmentally sustainable economic activities.

In 2021, the European Commission adopted the “Climate Delegated Act”²⁷ that governs the first two climate goals (climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation), establishing the technical screening criteria for economic activities that can contribute substantially to their achievement without causing significant dam- age to the remaining environmental goals. In 2022, the Commission, through the “Complementary Delegated Act”²⁸, amended the Climate Delegated Act by introducing activities and related technical screening criteria for energy generation from nuclear and natural gas. In 2023, the “Environmental Delegated Act”²⁹ was published, governing the remaining four environmental goals (sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, transition to a circular economy, prevention and reduction of pollution, and protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems). This delegated act also made some changes to the models to be used for the publication of key performance indicators (KPIs) of non-financial undertakings. Also in 2023, the Delegated Regulation 2023/2485 was published, making further amendments to the Climate Delegated Act, both in terms of new activities and in terms of technical screening criteria.
As a result of this extension, the Taxonomy now identifies 16 sectors that include a total of 153 economic activities³⁰. Of these activities, 101 contribute to the climate change mitigation goal (87 of which also contribute to the climate change adaptation goal and 2 also contribute to the transition to a circular economy goal).

A total of 106 economic activities contribute to the climate change adaptation goal (87 of which also contribute to the climate change mitigation goal and 2 also contribute to the transition to a circular economy goal). Six activities contribute to the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources goal. Twenty-one activities contribute to the goal of transition to a circular economy (two of which two also contribute to the climate change mitigation and adaptation goals). Six activities contribute to the pollution prevention and reduction goal. Finally, two activities contribute to the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems goal.

For the financial year 2023, non-financial undertakings subject to the regulation, such as Acea, are required to publish information³¹ on the percentage proportion of quantitative economic performance indicators (KPIs) - turnover, capital expenditure (CapEx) and operating expenditure (OpEx) - attributable to the economic activities managed that are eligible and aligned³² or not aligned to the Taxonomy, with reference to the activities already regulated for the first two climate goals. Furthermore, with regard to the four new environmental goals and the activities introduced by the 2023 legislation on the two climate goals, the Regulation requires the publication only of the turnover percentage, and Taxonomy-eligible and ineligible CAPEX and OpEx without verification of compliance with the technical screening criteria.
However, as reported in the Methodological Note, despite the absence of a regulatory requirement, Acea decided to carry out the alignment analyses also for the four new environmental goals, and for the activities added to the two climate targets in 2023; it also published the relevant qualitative and quantitative information.

24 Official Journal of the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088. The Regulation is implemented through the gradual adoption of Delegated Acts.
25 See the Sustainable Growth Action Plan, European Commission, COM (2018) 97 final and the Strategy for financing the transition to a circular economy, European Commission, COM (2021), 390 final.
26 In particular, the Climate Delegated Act, European Commission, C (2021) 2800 final, adopted on 4 June 2021 and entering into force on 1 January 2022.
27 The Climate Delegated Act, European Commission, C (2022) 631, adopted on 15 June 2022 and entered into force on 1 January 2023.
28 The Environmental Delegated Act, European Commission, C (2023) 2486, adopted on 27 June 2023 and entered into force on 1 January 2024.
29 The Disclosure Delegated Act, European Commission, C (2021) 4987 final, 2021, adopted in July 2021 and entering into force on 30 December 2021, defined the reporting methods that must be adopted by parties falling within the scope of application of the Regulation.
30 It is worth noticing that 153 instead of 155 activities are indicated, because two activities, both present in the CCM/CCA goals and in the EC goal, with the same title/description, but with different numerical codes (respectively activities 7.1. and 7.2 of the CCM/CCA goals and 3.1 and 3.2 of the EC goal) are considered by the EU Taxonomy Compass of the European Commission website as the same activities and therefore counted only once.
31 The Disclosure Delegated Act, European Commission, C (2021) 4987 final, 2021, adopted in July 2021 and entering into force on 30 December 2021, defined the reporting methods that must be adopted by parties falling within the scope of application of the Regulation.
32 Including partial alignment.