1. For financial products that promote environmental or social characteristics, financial market participants shall present the information referred to in Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 in an annex to the document or information referred to in Article 11(2) of that Regulation in the form of the template set out in Annex IV to this Regulation.
2. Financial market participants shall include in the main body of the document or information referred to in Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 a prominent statement that information on the environmental or social characteristics is available in that annex.
Attainment of the environmental or social characteristics promoted by the financial products
In the section ‘To what extent were the environmental and/or social characteristics promoted by this financial product met?’ in the template set out in Annex IV to this Regulation, financial market participants shall provide all of the following information:
(a)
the extent to which the environmental or social characteristics promoted by the financial product were met during the period covered by the periodic report, including the performance of the sustainability indicators used to measure how each of those environmental or social characteristics are met and which derivatives, if any, have been used to meet those environmental or social characteristics;
(b)
for the financial products referred to in Article 6, first paragraph, of Regulation (EU) 2020/852, an identification of the environmental objectives set out in Article 9 of that Regulation to which the sustainable investment underlying the financial product contributed;
(c)
where the financial market participant has provided at least one previous periodic report in accordance with this Section for the financial product, a historical comparison between the period covered by the periodic report and periods covered by previous periodic reports;
(d)
for financial products that included a commitment to make sustainable investments, an explanation of how those investments have contributed to the sustainable investment objectives referred to in Article 2, point (17), of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 and have not harmed significantly any of those objectives during the period covered by the periodic report, including all of the following:
(i)
how the indicators for adverse impacts in Table 1 of Annex I, and any relevant indicators in Tables 2 and 3 of that Annex, were taken into account;
(ii)
whether the sustainable investment was aligned with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, including the principles and rights set out in the eight fundamental conventions identified in the Declaration of the International Labour Organisation on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the International Bill of Human Rights;
(e)
information on principal adverse impacts on sustainability factors as referred to in the section ‘Does this financial product consider principal adverse impacts on sustainability factors?’ in the template set out in Annex II to this Regulation.
Top investments for financial products that promote environmental or social characteristics
1. The section ‘What were the top investments of this financial product?’ in the template set out in Annex IV to this Regulation shall contain a list, in descending order of size, of the fifteen investments constituting the largest proportion of investments of the financial product during the period covered by the periodic report, including the sector and countries in which those investments were made.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where the number of investments constituting fifty percent of the investments of the financial product during the period covered by the periodic report is less than fifteen, the section referred to in paragraph 1 shall contain a list of those investments, in descending order of size, including the sectors and countries in which those investments were made.
Asset allocation by financial products that promote environmental or social characteristics
In the section ‘What was the asset allocation?’ in the template set out in Annex IV to this Regulation, financial market participants shall provide a description of the investments of the financial product, including all of the following:
(a)
the proportions of the investments of the financial product that attained the promoted environmental or social characteristics during the period covered by the periodic report;
(b)
the purpose of the remainder of the investments during the period covered by the periodic report, including a description of any minimum environmental or social safeguards and whether those investments are used for hedging, relate to cash held as ancillary liquidity or are investments for which there are insufficient data.
Proportion of investments in different economic sectors and sub-sectors
In the section ‘In which economic sectors were the investments made?’ in the template set out in Annex IV to this Regulation, financial market participants shall provide information on the proportion of investments during the period covered by the periodic report in different sectors and sub-sectors, including sectors and sub-sectors of the economy that derive revenues from exploration, mining, extraction, production, processing, storage, refining or distribution, including transportation, storage and trade, of fossil fuels as defined in Article 2, point (62), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 17 ) .
Information on investments in environmentally sustainable economic activities for financial products that promote environmental characteristics
1. Where the financial products referred to in Article 6, first paragraph, of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 included a commitment to make investments in economic activities that contribute to an environmental objective within the meaning of Article 2, point (17), of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088, the section ‘What was the proportion of sustainability-related investments?’ in the template set out in Annex IV shall contain all of the following information:
(a)
a breakdown of the proportion of the investments per each of the environmental objectives set out in Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 to which those investments contributed;
(b)
a description of the investments in environmentally sustainable economic activities during the period covered by the periodic report, including:
(i)
whether the compliance of those investments with the requirements laid down in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 was subject to an assurance provided by one or more auditors or a review by one or more third parties and, if so, the name or the names of the auditor or third party;
(ii)
a graphical representation in the form of a bar chart of the aggregated investments in environmentally sustainable economic activities during the period covered by the periodic report, calculated in accordance with Article 17(1) to (4);
(iii)
a graphical representation in the form of a bar chart of the degree to which the aggregated investments are in environmentally sustainable economic activities during the period covered by the periodic report, but excluding sovereign exposures, and calculated in accordance with Article 17(5);
(iv)
the information referred to in Article 15(2), point (b);
(v)
a breakdown of the proportions of investments, during the period covered by the periodic report, in the transitional economic activities and in the enabling economic activities, in each case expressed as a percentage of all investments of the financial product;
(vi)
where the financial product invested in sustainable investments with an environmental objective, but which are not environmentally sustainable economic activities, a clear explanation of the reasons for doing so;
(vii)
where the financial market participant has provided at least one previous periodic report in accordance with this Section for the financial product, a historical comparison of the degree to which the investments were made in environmentally sustainable economic activities during the period covered by the periodic report and during previous periods;
(viii)
where the financial market participant could not assess the extent to which sovereign exposures contributed to environmentally sustainable economic activities during the period covered by the periodic report, a narrative explanation of the reasons and the size of those exposures in total investments.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, point (b), points (ii) and (iii), all of the following shall apply:
(a)
when aggregating the investments in non-financial undertakings, the turnover, capital expenditure and operational expenditure shall be calculated and included in the graphical representation;
(b)
when aggregating the investments in financial undertakings, the turnover and capital expenditure shall, where applicable, be calculated and included in the graphical representation;
(c)
for insurance undertakings and reinsurance undertakings that carry out non-life underwriting activities, the key performance indicator may be a combination of the investment and the underwriting key performance indicators in accordance Article 6 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178.
Information for financial products that promote social characteristics
For financial products that promote environmental or social characteristics that included a commitment in sustainable investments with a social objective, the section ‘What was the proportion of sustainability-related investments?’ in the template set out in Annex IV shall contain the share of those sustainable investments.
Sustainable performance of the index designated as a benchmark for environmental or social characteristics
1. In the section ‘How did this financial product perform compared to the designated reference benchmark?’ in the template set out in Annex IV to this Regulation, financial market participants shall, for financial products that promote environmental or social characteristics, provide all of the following information:
(a)
an explanation of how the index designated as a reference benchmark differs from a relevant broad market index, including the performance, during the period covered by the periodic report, of the sustainability indicators deemed relevant by the financial market participant to determine the alignment of the index with the environmental or social characteristics promoted by the financial product and the ESG factors referred to in the benchmark statement published by the benchmark administrator in accordance with Article 27(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1011;
(b)
a comparison between the performance of the financial product and the indicators measuring the sustainability factors of the index referred to in point (a) during the period covered by the periodic report;
(c)
a comparison between the performance of the financial product and a relevant broad market index during the period covered by the periodic report.
2. The comparisons referred to in paragraph 1, points (b) and (c), shall be presented, where relevant, either in the form of a table or in the form of a graphical representation.
SECTION 2 — Sustainable investment as objective
Presentation and content requirements for periodic reports for financial products that have sustainable investment as their objective
For financial products that have sustainable investment as their objective, financial market participants shall present the information referred to in Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 in an annex to the document or information referred to in Article 11(2) of that Regulation in the form of the template set out in Annex V to this Regulation. Financial market participants shall include in the main body of the document or information referred to in Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 a prominent statement that information on sustainable investment is available in that Annex.
Attainment of the sustainable investment objective of the financial product
In the section ‘To what extent was the sustainable investment objective of this financial product met?’ in the template set out in Annex V, financial market participants shall provide all of the following information:
(a)
the extent to which the sustainable investment objective was attained during the period covered by the periodic report, including the performance of:
(i)
the sustainability indicators referred to in the subsection ‘What sustainability indicators are used to measure the attainment of the sustainable investment objective of this financial product?’ of the section ‘What is the sustainable investment objective of this financial product?’ in the template set out in Annex III to this Regulation;
(ii)
any derivatives referred to in the subsection ‘How does the use of derivatives attain the sustainable investment objective?’ of the section ‘What is the asset allocation and the minimum share of sustainable investments?’ in the template set out in Annex III to this Regulation used to attain the sustainable investment objective;
(b)
for the financial products referred to in Article 5, first paragraph, of Regulation (EU) 2020/852, an identification of the environmental objectives set out in Article 9 of that Regulation to which the sustainable investment underlying the financial product contributed;
(c)
for the financial products referred to in Article 9(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088, information on how the objective of a reduction in carbon emissions was aligned with the Paris Agreement, containing a description of the contribution of the financial product during the period covered by the periodic report to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement, including in respect of an EU Climate Transition Benchmark or EU Paris-aligned Benchmark, the ESG factors and criteria considered by the benchmark administrator in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818;
(d)
where the financial market participants have provided at least one previous periodic report in accordance with this Section for the financial product, a historical comparison between the current period covered by the periodic report and previous periods;
(e)
an explanation of how the sustainable investments have contributed to a sustainable investment objective and have not harmed significantly any of the sustainable investment objectives during the period covered by the periodic report, including all of the following:
(i)
how the indicators for adverse impacts in Table 1 of Annex I, and any relevant indicators in Tables 2 and 3 of that Annex, were taken into account;
(ii)
whether the sustainable investment was aligned with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, including the principles and rights set out in the eight fundamental conventions identified in the Declaration of the International Labour Organisation on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the International Bill of Human Rights;
(f)
information on principal adverse impacts on sustainability factors as referred to in in the section ‘Does this financial product consider principal adverse impacts on sustainability factors?’ in the template set out in Annex III to this Regulation.
Top investments for financial products that have sustainable investment as their objective
1. In the section ‘What were the top investments of this financial product?’ in the template set out in Annex V, financial market participants shall list, in descending order of size, the fifteen investments constituting the largest proportion of investments of the financial product during the period covered by the periodic report, including the sectors and countries of those investments.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where the number of investments constituting fifty percent of the investments of the financial product during the period covered by the periodic report is less than fifteen, the section referred to in paragraph 1 shall contain a list of those investments, in descending order of size, including the sectors and countries in which those investments were made.
Proportion of sustainability-related investments for financial products that have sustainable investment as their objective
In the section ‘What was the proportion of sustainability-related investments?’ in the template set out in Annex V, financial market participants shall provide all of the following information:
(a)
the proportions of the investments of the financial product that contributed to the sustainable investment objective;
(b)
the purpose of the remainder of the investments during the period covered by the periodic report, including a description of any minimum environmental or social safeguards and whether those investments are used for hedging or relate to cash held as ancillary liquidity;
(c)
the proportion of investments during the period covered by the periodic report in different sectors and sub-sectors.
Information on sustainable investments for financial products with the objective of sustainable investment
1. For the financial products referred to in Article 5, first paragraph, of Regulation (EU) 2020/852, the section ‘What was the proportion of sustainability-related investments?’ in the template set out in Annex V shall contain all of the following information:
(a)
a breakdown in accordance with Article 55(1), point (a);
(b)
a description of the sustainable investments in environmentally sustainable economic activities during the period covered by the periodic report, including:
(i)
the information in accordance with Article 55(1), point (b)(i);
(ii)
a graphical representation in the form of a bar chart in accordance with Article 55(1), point (b)(ii);
(iii)
a graphical representation in the form of a bar chart in accordance with Article 55(1), point (b)(iii);
(iv)
the information referred to in Article 15(1), point (b);
(v)
a breakdown in accordance with Article 55(1), point (b)(v);
(vi)
where the financial product invested in sustainable investments with an environmental objective but that are not environmentally sustainable economic activities, a clear explanation of the reasons for doing so;
(vii)
where the financial market participant has provided at least one previous periodic report in accordance with this Section for the financial product, a historical comparison of the degree to which the investments were made in environmentally sustainable economic activities during the period covered by the periodic report and during previous periods;
(c)
a narrative explanation in accordance with Article 55(1), point (b)(viii);
(d)
for financial products having sustainable investments with a social objective, the section ‘What was the share of socially sustainable investments during the period covered by the periodic report’ in the template set out in Annex V shall also contain the share of those sustainable investments.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, point (b)(ii) and point (b)(iii), financial market participants shall apply Article 55(2).
Sustainable performance of the index designated as a benchmark for the sustainable objective
1. In the section ‘How did this financial product perform compared to the reference sustainable benchmark?’ in the template set out in Annex V, financial market participants shall, for financial products that have sustainable investment as their objective and for which an index has been designated as a reference benchmark, provide all of the following information:
(a)
an explanation of how the index designated as a reference benchmark differs from a relevant broad market index, including at least the performance during the period covered by the periodic report of the sustainability indicators deemed relevant by the financial market participant to determine the alignment of the index with the sustainable investment objective, including the ESG factors referred to in the benchmark statement published by the benchmark administrator in accordance with Article 27(2a) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1011;
(b)
a comparison between the performance of the financial product and the indicators measuring the sustainability factors of the index referred to in point (a) during the period covered by the periodic report;
(c)
a comparison between the performance of the financial product and a relevant broad market index during the period covered by the periodic report.
2. The comparisons referred to in paragraph 1, points (b) and (c), shall be made either in the form of a table or in the form of a graphical representation.
SECTION 3 — Historical comparisons for periodic reports
1. Financial market participants shall, in the historical comparisons referred to in Article 51, point (c), Article 55(1), point (b)(vii), Article 59, point (d), and Article 62(1), point (b)(vii), compare the period covered by the periodic report with periods covered by previous periodic reports and, subsequently, with every previous period covered by a periodic report up to at least the last five previous periods.
2. For the purposes of the historical comparisons referred to in Article 51, point (c), and Article 59, point (d), financial market participants shall report on the performance of the sustainability indicators consistently over time, and shall provide all of the following information:
(a)
where quantitative disclosures are made, figures with a relative measure such as impact per euro invested;
(b)
which indicators are subject to an assurance provided by an auditor or a review by a third party;
(c)
the proportion of underlying assets of the financial product referred to in the section ‘What was the proportion of sustainability-related investments?’ in the template set out in Annex IV to this Regulation and in the section ‘What was the proportion of sustainability-related investments?’ in the template set out in Annex V.
SECTION 4 — Financial products with investment options
Financial products with one or more underlying investment options that qualify those financial products as financial products that promote environmental or social characteristics
1. By way of derogation from Articles 50 to 57, where a financial product offers investment options to the investor and one or more of those investment options qualify that financial product as a financial product that promotes environmental or social characteristics, financial market participants shall insert in the main body of the document or information referred to in Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 a prominent statement confirming all of the following:
(a)
that the financial product promotes environmental or social characteristics;
(b)
that the attainment of those characteristics is subject to investing in at least one of the investment options referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and holding at least one of those options during the holding period of the financial product;
(c)
that further information related to those environmental or social characteristics is available in the annexes referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.
2. Financial market participants shall provide all of the following information in annexes to the document or information referred to in Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088:
(a)
for each investment option invested in that qualifies as a financial product that promotes environmental or social characteristics, the information referred to in Articles 50 to 57 of this Regulation;
(b)
for each investment option invested in that qualifies as a financial product that has sustainable investment as its objective, the information referred to in Articles 58 to 63 of this Regulation;
(c)
for each investment option invested in that has sustainable investment as its objective and is not a financial product, the information on the objective of sustainable investment.
3. Financial market participants shall present the information referred to in paragraph 2, point (a), in the form of the template set out in Annex IV and the information referred to in paragraph 2, point (b), in the form of the template set out in Annex V.
Financial products with underlying investment options that all have sustainable investment as their objectives
1. By way of derogation from Articles 58 to 63, where a financial product offers investment options to the investor and all of those investment options have sustainable investment as their objectives, financial market participants shall confirm in a prominent statement in the main body of the document or information referred to in Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 that the financial product has as its objective sustainable investment and that the information related to that objective is available in the annexes referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.
2. Financial market participants shall provide all of the following information in the annexes to the document or information referred to in Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088:
(a)
for each investment option invested in that qualifies as a financial product that has sustainable investment as its objective, the information referred to in Articles 58 to 63;
(b)
for each investment option invested in that has sustainable investment as its objective and is not a financial product, the information on the objective of the sustainable investment.
3. Financial market participants shall present the information referred to in paragraph 2, point (a), in the form of the template set out in Annex V.
Information on underlying investment options that have sustainable investment as their objective and are not themselves financial products
The information on the objective of the sustainable investment referred to in Article 65(2), point (c), and Article 66(2), point (b), shall contain all of the following:
(a)
a description of the sustainable investment objective;
(b)
the extent to which the sustainable investment objective was attained during the period covered by the periodic report, including the performance of the sustainability indicators used to measure the overall sustainable impacts of the options that have sustainable investment as their objective;
(c)
a description of how the investments do not significantly harm any of the sustainable investment objectives, including all of the following:
(i)
how the indicators for adverse impacts in Table 1 of Annex I and any relevant indicators in Tables 2 and 3 of that Annex, are taken into account;
(ii)
whether the sustainable investment is aligned with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, including the principles and rights set out in the eight fundamental conventions identified in the Declaration of the International Labour Organisation on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the International Bill of Human Rights.
