Beehives!

• Published date: 07 March 2024
• Subject Matter: Corporate/Commercial Law, Environment, Government, Public Sector, Corporate Governance, Environmental Law, Constitutional & Administrative Law
• Law Firm: RIMON FALKENFORT Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwalten & Steuerberatern mbB
• Author: Mr RIMON FALKENFORT Partnerschaft Von Rechtsanwalten & Steuerberatern MbB

Sustainability in Remuneration Systems? Is that possible? And if so, how?

Everyone wants it. Everyone claims it. But in practice, are sustainability criteria actually met?

Have insurance companies and investment houses really made progress or have sustainability targets remained with the beehives on the roof - i.e. greenwashing - in the practice of fund providers?

What has become of the seal of the Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen (FNG) trade association? Is the FNG seal comparable to the "organic" seal: nice and colorful, but empty of content?

The news alone that the FNG seal wants to "reposition itself in 2024" sounds like this has not been a great success story. What is it all about?

Sustainability is about minimum standards in the consideration of labor and human rights, environmental protection, and the fight against corruption.

If the fathers of the FNG seal have their way, applicants will have to also demonstrate the extent to which remuneration systems - i.e. salaries and variable bonuses - are linked to the specific sustainability performance of their companies.

It's all about credibility and neither the beehives on the roof of the company headquarters, the number of digital training options for endless ESG webinars, the increased volume of donations, nor the use of the job bike (which has not really caught on in the world of asset managers) will help here. Joking aside, the ESG compliance jungle has become more confusing for everyone involved.

The following laws and regulations contain far-reaching obligations for many stakeholders in the financial world (and beyond), with an ever-growing list of ESG compliance demands and reporting obligations:

• Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive/CSRD (EU Directive 2022/2464, the so-called EU Disclosure Regulation) contains sustainability reporting obligations for SMEs since the beginning of January 2023;
• ARUG Il / Act on the Implementation of the Second Shareholders' Rights Directive in conjunction with Section 87a (1) AktG contains regulations on remuneration systems of listed companies since July 2019;
• Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive / CSDDD (also referred to as the EU Supply Chain Act) in its last draft from December 14, 2023, contained reporting obligations with a two-year implementation period for Berlin from 2024, but failed to achieve final approval by the European Council on February 28, 2024 following last minute objections from Germany, Italy and France;
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