The manner and content of non-financial reporting for companies will be specifically regulated by the NRFD (non-financial reporting directive), a directive that is still being finalized at EU level to comply with the SFDR and the Taxonomy Regulation.

HANFA published an announcement stating that  they have adopted Guidelines for the preparation and publication of ESG information to be published by companies financed through the capital market. It is a document intended for issuers on the regulated market in the Republic of Croatia who are subject to non-financial reporting under the Accounting Act.

Following the Paris Agreement, the European Commission published its European Green Plan, following which the Republic of Croatia determined that in the next 10 years it will focus national and European funding sources on fostering a sustainable economy and society, recovery and strengthening resilience to crisis, green and digital transition and balanced regional development. The financial industry will play a key role in achieving these goals both on a local and global level, whose task is to direct capital flows towards sustainable investments, i.e. investments that support the goals of sustainable development.

HANFA’s Guidelines will be a guide for issuers in the development of non-financial ESG reporting in Croatia and serve as preparation for mandatory publication of company objectives under the Taxonomy Regulation for all financial institutions (banks, funds, investment companies). As of March, in both Croatia and EU, a mandatory application of the EU Regulation SFDR by publishing data (Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation) has begun, which regulates the method of considering financing and investments according to the ESG factors as well as the Taxonomy Regulation which defines economic areas that can be considered environmentally sustainable.

The manner and content of non-financial reporting for companies will be specifically regulated by the NRFD (non-financial reporting directive), a directive that is still being finalized at EU level to comply with the SFDR and the Taxonomy Regulation. In that interim period, the HANFA’s Guidelines will support companies to prepare for non-financial reporting according to the new standards in order to be ready for the full implementation of the harmonized NFRD Directive expected next year.

We have recently published a short blog on the growing popularity of ESG investing, which you can find on the link here. Besides that, last year we published ESG disclosure scores of Croatian and Slovenian blue chips which can be found on the link here.