A Qualitative Study on Swedish Enterprises Perspectives and Needs Of Improvement Of The EU Taxonomy : From a Policy & Practice Perspective

Abstract: In classical “triple bottom line” sustainability reporting, there have not been any clear guidelines on how companies should report on their environmental footprint. Consequently, the transparency in the environmental reporting has been low, which has resulted in greenwashing. To create reliable reporting and increase the proportion of green loans and green investments, the EU introduced the classification system EU Taxonomy in 2021. The new framework has stricter requirements on companies as they are now obligated to report on specific guidelines. These guidelines will also allow stakeholders to determine how sustainable a company is. Since the EU Taxonomy was recently launched, there has been a knowledge gap in how companies experience the framework. Also, what measures should be considered in the design of the EU Taxonomy for the implementation to be as successful as possible, based on the premise that companies should make their business model as sustainable as possible. This semi-structured interview study examines how Swedish companies experience the EU Taxonomy. The researchers interviewed eight Swedish stakeholders with great insights into the area, from the manufacturing industry (1), the Real Estate Industry (2), the Swedish Corporate Business Organizations (1), the Real Estate Industry Organizations (2), and Auditing Firms (2). The researchers could conclude that being classified as sustainable in the EU Taxonomy does not necessarily mean a company is sustainable from a scientific point of view. Nevertheless, it can be an answer to political interests. The interviewees also felt it was challenging to interpret and understand the framework and that there were necessary clarifications. Further, the EU will have to account for several activities from each industry so that companies can report on their total ecological footprint. Finally, changes in the delegated acts are mandatory for the EU taxonomy to be a successful policy instrument.