The European Corporate Reporting Lab
About the European Corporate Reporting Lab
The European Lab was established by EFRAG, following the call by the European Commission in its March 2018 Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth. The European Lab serves the European public interest and its objective is to stimulate innovation in the field of corporate reporting in Europe by identifying and sharing good reporting practices through:
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Facilitating dialogue between reporting companies, users and other relevant stakeholders and organisations; and
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Documenting the content and outcomes of this dialogue in reports and other means, for making them available in the public domain.
Governance of the European Lab
The European Lab had a multi-stakeholder Steering Group (European Lab SG) and under its direction EFRAG established project task forces for specific projects (European Lab PTFs).
The European Lab Steering Group was responsible for setting the agenda of the European Lab; appointing the members of the European Lab PTFs; monitoring project implementation; promoting outputs of the European Lab and mobilising networks; giving direction on external communication; and reviewing the progress of the European Lab activities. The European Lab Steering Group was guided by European Lab SG Terms of Reference.
The European Lab PTFs are responsible for the operation of the projects of the European Lab, including planning, specific issues selection, conducting stakeholder consultative outreach activities, and the project reports and other deliverables, as decided by the PTFs. The PTFs operate under the European Lab PTFs Operating Guidelines.
Agenda of the European Lab
The first project of the European Lab was requested by the European Commission to be on climate-related reporting.
On 18 July 2019 a public consultation was launched on the European Lab future agenda, requesting input to be provided by 30 September 2019. The consultation proposed future project topics and sought views on their prioritisation. It also sought input on any possible alternative project that would be more important and urgent for the European Lab to undertake than the projects proposed.
Roundtable event
A roundtable event was hosted by EFRAG on 10 September 2019, for stakeholders to provide input and exchange views with European Lab Steering Group members on the future agenda of the European Lab. The results of the public agenda consultation were summarised in a feedback statement. A vast majority of respondents supported a project on Reporting of non-financial risks and opportunities and linkage to the business model as the next priority for the European Lab.
Climate-related reporting
The first project of the European Lab was on climate-related reporting.
The members of the European Lab PTF on Climate-related Reporting (PTF-CRR) were appointed by the European Lab SG in February 2019.
The primary focus of the PTF-CRR was on identifying good reporting practices and assessing the level of maturity in the implementation of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, while also taking into consideration the climate-related reporting elements of the EU Non-financial Reporting Directive and the related European Commission non-binding guidelines.
The project addressed two areas: a general review of climate-related disclosures, and an in-depth review of scenario analysis reporting.
As part of the process the PTF-CRR engaged in dialogue with interested stakeholders, with a view to get practical insights on good reporting practices.
The project resulted in a report on How to improve climate-related reporting - A summary of practices from Europe and beyond that was published on 6 February 2020.
Access Reports
Main report
Supplement 1
Supplement 2
Summary flyer
Reporting of non-financial risks and opportunities and linkage to the business model
The aim of the second project of the European Lab was to identify good reporting practices around the theme of the project from a sustainability perspective and addressing what is commonly known as ESG factors. The project considered the needs and expectations of a wide range of users and other stakeholders, the extent to which they were addressed by current reporting practices, and the challenges faced by companies in providing that information.
The members of the European Lab PTF on Reporting of non-financial risks and opportunities and linkage to the business model (PTF-RNFRO) were appointed by the European Lab SG at the end of May 2020. The PTF-RNFRO was responsible for further scoping and conducting the project, in agreement with and under the supervision of the European Lab SG.
The report: ‘Towards Sustainable Businesses: Good Practices in Business Model, Risks and Opportunities Reporting in the EU’ and supporting 'Supplementary Document: Good Reporting Practices' was published on 4 October 2021. It presents the state of play and the drivers of current reporting practices, the application of technological solutions, and suggests a path to improvement in the reporting of sustainability risks, opportunities and their linkage to the business model.
The Supplementary Document shares 37 examples of good or leading practices extracted from 27 companies- with reasons why these are good practices and suggestions for improvement.
In addition a summary document was published.
Main report
The report was selected as one of the prize winners in the 2023 session of International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) Honours among 70 initiatives from all over the world.
The co-chair of the Project Task Force Dawn Slevin expressed her gratitude in a video displayed during the ceremony
Podcast series: Good practices in reporting the business model, sustainability risks & opportunities
Episode 1: The report - Mario Abela and Dawn Slevin (PTF Co-chairs) 
YouTube 
Spotify
Episode 2: Good reporting practices - Giuseppe Milici - PTF member YouTube Spotify
Episode 3: Technology - Donato Calace - PTF member YouTube Spotify
Sustainability Reporting Standards Roadmap
Preparatory work for the elaboration of possible EU non-financial reporting standards
On 25 June 2020 the European Commission (EC) issued a request for technical advice mandating EFRAG to undertake preparatory work for the elaboration of possible EU non-financial reporting standards in a revised Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD).
The EC also issued a separate ad personam mandate, inviting EFRAG Board President and European Lab Steering Group Chairman, Jean Paul Gauzès, to consider the possible need for changes to the governance and financing of EFRAG, if it were to be entrusted with the development of European non-financial reporting standards under a revised NFRD.
The project on the preparatory work for the elaboration of possible EU non-financial reporting standards is operated within the European Lab.
The preparatory work was carried out by a multi-stakeholder Project Task Force (PTF-NFRS) appointed by the European Lab Steering Group on 1 September 2020.
The PTF-NFRS incorporates a balanced representation of a broad range of stakeholders with a legitimate interest in non-financial information, spanning the public sector, the private sector, SMEs and civil society from across the EU, in line with the EC request for technical advice. The members of the PTF-NFRS have proven expertise on the different matters covered by the NFRD and the requirements of the EC request for technical advice. The term of appointment of the PTF-NFRS was for the duration of the project.
A progress report was issued by the PTF-NFRS to the EC on 6 November 2020, containing information on the status of the project and preliminary high level assessment points.
On 10 December 2020 EFRAG hosted a meeting with some of the leading international corporate reporting initiatives in the context of its two non-financial reporting mandates.
A series of outreach events took place between 13 and 22 January 2021, with the objective to gather stakeholders’ views from different countries on the tentative proposals of the PTF-NFRS. The associated outreach document was published on 11 January 2021.
The PTF-NFRS submitted its final report to the European Commission on 28 February 2021, proposing a roadmap for the development of a comprehensive set of EU sustainability reporting standards.
The final report of the PTF-NFRS was published by EFRAG on 8 March 2021, together with the report of Jean-Paul Gauzès proposing reforms to EFRAG's governance structure and funding, to ensure that future EU sustainability reporting standards are developed using an inclusive and rigorous process.
A second meeting with leading international sustainability reporting standard setters and other related initiatives was held on 22 March 2021, to present the published recommendations for the development of EU sustainability reporting standards and explore possible cooperation in a co-constructive spirit, promoting convergence and maintaining momentum.
Technical work for interim draft sustainability reporting standards
On 21 April 2021 the European Commission adopted a legislative proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) which would oblige companies under scope to report in compliance with European sustainability reporting standards adopted by the European Commission as delegated acts.
Under the proposed CSRD, EFRAG would develop draft standards, using proper due process, public oversight and transparency, and with the expertise of relevant stakeholders.
The timeline contained in the proposal assumes the elaboration of draft sustainability reporting standards in parallel to the legislative process of the proposed CSRD. To meet this timeline, Commissioner McGuinness, in a letter dated 12 May 2021, has requested EFRAG to:
- reform its governance following the recommendations by Jean-Paul Gauzès in his report which were fully supported by Commissioner McGuinness, and
- put in place interim working methods to start the technical work immediately building on the membership, leadership, expertise and recommendations of the PTF-NFRS.
As a consequence, the PTF-NFRS established in September 2020, is now called the Project Task Force on European sustainability reporting standards (PTF-ESRS). The PTF-ESRS has been invited to start elaborating standards in project mode in view of of passing responsibility to the EFRAG sustainability reporting bodies as soon as they have been established following the planned governance reforms. For more information see the separate project page set up for this purpose.
Outreach events - 13 to 22 January 2021
| Date | Focus | Language | |
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| Wednesday 13 January | Spanish focus | Spanish | Programme | Recordings |
| Thursday 14 January | Nordic focus | English | Programme | Recordings |
| Friday 15 January | European organisations and other European countries focus | English | Programme | Recordings |
| Monday 18 January | Financial institutions focus | English | Programme | Recordings |
| Monday 18 January | German focus | German | Programme | Recordings |
| Thursday 21 January | French focus | French | Programme | Recordings |
| Friday 22 January | Italian focus | Italian | Programme | Recordings |