The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), launched in 2006 by the UN, commit signatories to integrating ESG issues into their investment processes. With over 5,000 signatories and $120 trillion in assets under management, this initiative plays a key role in promoting sustainable finance.

The European Green Deal targets a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2030, in line with sustainable development goals. This ambition is part of a broader strategy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

The 2023 study by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) reveals that the average alignment rate of European listed companies with the EU Taxonomy is 17.3% of their turnover. This figure shows that the transition to a sustainable economy remains a major challenge for companies.

ESG criteria assess three dimensions: environmental (impact on the natural environment), social (working conditions, human rights) and governance (transparency, anti-corruption). These criteria complement traditional financial analysis for a more holistic assessment of companies.

The SFDR regulation imposes transparency obligations on all financial market participants, including Article 6 funds (without a specific ESG objective) and Article 8 funds (promoting ESG characteristics). Its objective is to combat greenwashing by requiring the disclosure of sustainability risks and adverse investment impacts.

The V3 framework of the French ISR label, which came into force in March 2024, strengthens requirements by mandating the elimination of the bottom 30% of ESG scores (compared with 20% previously). This measure aims to improve the selectivity and real impact of labelled funds on sustainable issues.

ESG criteria are broken down into three pillars: environmental (emissions, resource management), social (working conditions, diversity) and governance (transparency, ethics). This classification enables the assessment of companies on dimensions complementary to traditional financial criteria.

The EU Taxonomy is a classification system for environmentally sustainable economic activities, established by Regulation 2020/852. It defines six environmental objectives and technical criteria for assessing whether an activity is sustainable.

European regulation includes structured frameworks such as the EU Taxonomy and the SFDR, while international initiatives include organizations such as the GSIA and the ISSB. This distinction is crucial for understanding the differences in regulatory approaches.