Consob published a Call for evidence [only Italian version] in order to acquire useful elements from market operators for the evaluation of the voluntary adhesion regime to non-financial reporting.
In the current context, the request for greater transparency in the non-financial information of European companies by the investor community is becoming increasingly insistent, due to the increasingly frequent use of ESG elements as part of its investment selection process and due to the evolution of the European regulatory framework on sustainable finance, including Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability related disclosures in the financial services sector (Disclosure Regulation) and the Regulation on the classification system of sustainable economic activities (Taxonomy Regulations), which require that ever greater and more reliable non-financial information on the companies being invested be made available to financial market operators.
The current regulations, outlined by the Legislative Decree no. 254/2016 which transposed into our legal system the Directive 2014/95/EU (disclosure of non financial and diversity information), introduced for public interest entities (listed companies, banks and insurance companies) exceeding specific dimensional requirements (PIEs) the obligation to publish a non-financial statement (NFD) which must include, in addition to a description of the business model of management and company organization, information regarding the main risks deriving from the business and its products and services as well as the policies practiced and the results achieved by the company itself with reference to environmental, social, personnel issues, respect for human rights, the fight against active and passive corruption.
The aforementioned Decree provides that even subjects other than PIEs may, on a voluntary basis, publish a declaration of a non-financial nature ("NFD").
The provision of a voluntary regime of adherence to non-financial reporting has the advantage of not imposing on a generalized basis the costs associated with the preparation and publication of the information, while at the same time allowing concerned companies to register and inform about their own risks and sustainability features through a standardized report recognized both by national and EU law. Nonetheless, the amount of issuers that have joined the voluntary NFD publication regime is still small.
While the revision process of the Directive 2014/95 / EU on non-financial reporting is currently underway at European level, the call for evidence, through a series of questions addressed to market operators, therefore aims to find information about the reasons for the non-disclosure of non-financial reporting on a voluntary basis.
The questionnaire focuses in particular on the analysis of the costs and benefits associated with the publication of the NFD by companies currently not subject to this obligation, in order to acquire useful elements for elaborating suggestions for amendments to the national regulations on the subject.
The consultation will end on 30 November 2020.

Call for evidence [only Italian version]