The EU Taxonomy Regulation, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) are among the main pieces of legislation that the European Commission has chosen to revise as part of a stated — and significant — effort to simplify the ESG obligations imposed on companies.
The package bringing together these simplification measures has been dubbed the “Omnibus” package. It is the Commission’s response to pressure from a number of Member States, industry sectors and companies — particularly SMEs — to reduce the complexity and regulatory burden associated with sustainability requirements.
Yet, in practice, the simplification effort appeared to go much further, substantially weakening parts of the previous regulatory framework.
Commenting on the measures, Mario Calderini also identified what he sees as a broader cultural problem, in line with the approach reflected in the Draghi Report: the tendency to frame competitiveness and sustainability as conflicting objectives.
“It is also,” he argues, “a complete reversal of the political approach pursued over the past decade. It essentially takes us back to a world in which you are either sustainable, do good and generate a positive impact, or you are competitive.”
The response from market participants is equally concerning:
“It is worrying that markets, companies and financial operators have interpreted this as a sort of ‘free-for-all’: ‘We have finally freed ourselves from this burden.’ […] The message seems to be that the problem was simply excessive red tape, and that once we remove it, we will suddenly become extraordinarily competitive again.”
The interview is featured in an in-depth episode of the podcast series “Produrre Bene”, curated by Giampaolo Cerri.
You can listen to it here:
On Vita Magazine: https://www.vita.it/europa-calderini-lomnibus-isteria-politica-che-apre-una-crepa-nellidentita-comunitaria/