Stocktake of the EU Taxonomy in action

Earlier this month the European Commission published a factsheet evidencing the market’s uptake of the EU Taxonomy. The results (gleaned from reporting by entities in scope of the EU’s new rules requiring reporting against the EU Taxonomy) are encouraging.  

The EU finds that companies, public entities and other market participants are increasingly using the EU’s Taxonomy for their business strategies, transition planning and investing and lending activities. Some of the key stats highlighted in the publication are set out below.

• Companies have started using the EU Taxonomy to plan and highlight their green investments. Around 20 per cent of companies’ capital investments are now aligned with the EU Taxonomy, with the utilities sector leading the way (particularly electricity providers, with over 60 per cent taxonomy-aligned investments).  
• EU Taxonomy-aligned capital investment in 2024 is already outpacing 2023 figures. Companies have already reported capital investment into taxonomy-aligned activities amounting to €249bn – up from the €191bn reported in all of 2023 – and totalling €440bn in 2023 and 2024 (as of 6 May 2024).
• For financial years 2022 and 2023 (as of 26 May 2024) German companies led the way.  Companies located in Germany have reported the highest taxonomy-aligned investments (€114bn), followed by France (€63bn), Spain (€60bn) and Italy (€48bn).
• In 2023, 90 per cent of green bonds issued by EU public sector referenced the EU Taxonomy.
• Banks are beginning to use the EU Taxonomy in lending strategies and in their assessment of companies’ investment plans. Mortgages and other loans to activities in scope of the EU Taxonomy represented over 50 per cent of the assets of large EU banks on first-year figures.