We have expanded the list of climate policies we assess company engagement with to incorporate land-use related policy, referring to legislative or regulatory measures to enhance and protect ecosystems and land where carbon is being stored. Assessments under this category are currently underweighted in terms of their contribution to the overall company metrics. This weighting will be progressively increased over the next 6 months.
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
Invest Europe appears to have fairly limited engagement on sustainable finance policy but does not appear to support stringent regulatory intervention.
Invest Europe has stated support for the EU's net zero by 2050 target in its 2021 Climate Ambition Statement. Invest Europe has consistently emphasized that any regulation should be "workable, proportionate and support Europe’s wider economic aims" and has also appeared to suggest that voluntary action by the private equity sector is largely sufficient in addressing sustainability risks.
Invest Europe has not expressed a clear position on the EU's taxonomy, stating on its website that “the key challenge will be to determine appropriate criteria to measure environmental performance”. In feedback to the Commission in 2020, Invest Europe suggested that public authorities should align spending with the taxonomy and supported its expansion to social issues. In the same feedback, Invest Europe appeared to support the creation of ESG labels for funds for professional investors with minor exceptions.
In an ESMA consultation in 2019, Invest Europe argued for a flexible approach to including ESG factors in the advice investment firms give to clients. In feedback to the European Commission in 2020, Invest Europe appeared to oppose an expansion of fiduciary duty to cover adverse impacts of investments on sustainability issues. In response to the ESA’s SFDR consultation on investor ESG disclosure in 2020, Invest Europe argued for a less prescriptive approach, including a reduced number of mandatory indicators.
Invest Europe appears to be cautious about the use of prudential regulation to achieve sustainable finance goals. In feedback to the European Commission in 2020, Invest Europe was cautious about the review of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), including arguing against the expansion of the scope to SMEs and private investments and opposing mandatory standardized disclosure.