The European Union (EU) is committed to achieving a low-carbon, resource-efficient, and sustainable economy. To this end, the EU has introduced the EU Taxonomy Regulation, which aims to classify and report sustainable economic activities. The EU Taxonomy Reporting is a process that allows companies to disclose their sustainability activities and investments that contribute to achieving the EU’s environmental objectives. This article provides an in-depth guide to EU Taxonomy Reporting, including its benefits, how to comply with its requirements, and its impact on sustainable investments.

What is EU Taxonomy Reporting?

EU Taxonomy Reporting is a process of disclosing a company’s sustainability activities and investments that contribute to achieving the EU’s environmental objectives. The EU Taxonomy regulation is a classification system that identifies environmentally sustainable economic activities. The taxonomy covers six environmental objectives: climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and control, and protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.

The EU Taxonomy Reporting enables investors to compare and assess different companies’ environmental performances based on a common standard. The reporting requirements are intended to increase transparency and help investors make informed decisions about their investments in environmentally sustainable economic activities.

Why is EU Taxonomy Reporting Important?

EU Taxonomy Reporting is important because it provides companies with a framework to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practices. The reporting requirements apply to all large companies operating in the EU that are subject to the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). The NFRD requires large companies to disclose information about their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance in their annual reports.

By complying with the EU Taxonomy requirements, companies can increase their transparency, credibility, and reputation. Investors are increasingly interested in companies with strong sustainability performance, which can result in higher investment and better access to capital. Companies that fail to disclose their sustainability activities and investments may face reputational risks and may be at a disadvantage when seeking investment.

Who is Affected by EU Taxonomy Reporting?

The EU Taxonomy Reporting applies to all large companies operating in the EU that are subject to the NFRD. The NFRD applies to companies that exceed the following criteria:

• More than 500 employees
• Annual turnover of more than 40 million euros
• Balance sheet total of more than 20 million euros.

The EU Taxonomy Reporting is an additional requirement that applies to companies that claim to have environmentally sustainable economic activities or investments. Companies that do not have environmentally sustainable economic activities or investments are not required to report under the EU Taxonomy Regulation.

How to Comply with EU Taxonomy Reporting Requirements?

Complying with EU Taxonomy Reporting requirements involves four main steps:

Step 1: Identify the economic activities and investments that are covered by the EU Taxonomy Regulation.

The first step is to identify the economic activities and investments that are covered by the EU Taxonomy Regulation. The taxonomy covers economic activities and investments that make a substantial contribution to one or more of the six environmental objectives mentioned above. Companies should identify the economic activities and investments that are relevant to their business operations and determine whether they meet the EU Taxonomy criteria for environmental sustainability.

Step 2: Assess whether the economic activities and investments meet the EU Taxonomy criteria for environmental sustainability.

The second step is to assess whether the economic activities and investments meet the EU Taxonomy criteria for environmental sustainability. The criteria are based on technical screening criteria that are developed by the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. The screening criteria provide a set of performance thresholds that economic activities and investments must meet to be considered environmentally sustainable.

Step 3: Disclose the proportion of the company’s economic activities and investments that meet the EU Taxonomy criteria for environmental sustainability.

The third step is to disclose the proportion of the company’s economic activities and investments that meet the EU Taxonomy criteria for environmental sustainability. Companies must report the proportion of their turnover, capital expenditure, and operating expenditure that is generated by environmentally sustainable economic activities and investments. The disclosure should be made in the annual report or in a separate sustainability report.

Step 4: Provide additional information on how the economic activities and investments contribute to the EU’s environmental objectives.

The fourth step is to provide additional information on how the economic activities and investments contribute to the EU’s environmental objectives. Companies should provide information on the environmental impact of their economic activities and investments, the measures they have taken to reduce their environmental impact, and the expected future environmental benefits. Companies should also disclose any potential adverse impacts on the environment and explain how they plan to mitigate them.

Conclusion

EU Taxonomy Reporting is an important step towards achieving a low-carbon, resource-efficient, and sustainable economy. By complying with the reporting requirements, companies can increase their transparency, credibility, and reputation, and investors can make informed decisions about their investments in environmentally sustainable economic activities. To comply with the EU Taxonomy requirements, companies need to identify the economic activities and investments that are covered by the regulation, assess whether they meet the EU Taxonomy criteria for environmental sustainability, disclose the proportion of their economic activities and investments that meet the criteria, and provide additional information on how they contribute to the EU’s environmental objectives. By following these steps, companies can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and contribute to a more sustainable future.

How to do EU Taxonomy efficiently?

Using Celsia for EU Taxonomy reporting can greatly simplify the reporting process and help companies ensure compliance with the regulation. This dedicated software can automate data collection and analysis, provide real-time insights and alerts, and generate accurate and consistent reports. It can also help companies identify gaps and opportunities for improvement and track progress towards their sustainability goals. By using Celsia software for EU Taxonomy reporting, companies can save time and resources, reduce the risk of errors and inconsistencies, and enhance the quality and credibility of their reporting.

For local business owners, it might feel like there’s little need to invest time and money in optimising your Google presence, considering you’re up against giants like Amazon and Nike for top-tier rankings. However, while this might be true for main organic listings, it’s not necessarily the case for local search. 

Whether you have a physical store or serve a distinct geographical location, local SEO can effectively let you interact with prospects and customers in your town, city, and neighbourhood. When done correctly, local SEO can help you appear more prominently in search results featuring the Local Pack, the Local Finder, Google Maps, and other localised organic search results. 

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is part of SEO aimed at improving the visibility of local businesses in local search engine results. These results that usually appear in local search results are usually in response to “near me” searches, meaning that the search user is looking for something in the location or the search engine has picked geographical constraints related to the search. 

To perform SEO for your Galway business, you will need to perform a series of actions aimed at raising your local search visibility. Some of the best practices include:

1. Claiming and optimising your Google My Business Profile 
2. Website optimisation
3. Reputation management
4. Local link building
5. Adapting to Google Search changes
6. Fighting spam
7. Building citations
8. Geotagging images

Moreover, it’s still best to do all of the things you have been doing for traditional SEO. you want to have a website that is as technically sound as possible, with other SEO best practices in place. 

How SEO Can Help Local Galway Businesses

Currently, nearly half of all Google searches are local searches. In fact, when someone does a typical search on Google, Google will likely show local businesses in the results. The following are some of the ways SEO can be helpful for local businesses.

1. Higher online visibility

Most of the activities involved with local SEO will help improve the visibility of your business in the local search results, and also help you build better online visibility. 

For instance, building citations entails building mentions of your business name, its physical address, social media profiles, phone numbers, and online review platforms. This is done on as many different platforms as possible. This makes it easier for people interested in your product or service in Galway to find your business. 

Keep in mind that most users will likely opt for brands Google ranks higher in the search results. This is important for small businesses as it means that they can reach their goals faster and outdo their competition. 

2. More calls and traffic to your store

Achieving higher local visibility means that you will get more foot traffic to your physical Galway store, whether it’s a food truck in Galway, a restaurant, a hardware store, or a dry cleaner business. If your products are best experienced in person, it can be helpful to have a growing number of people stopping by, as this can help create a buzz about your business and make more sales. 

It’s also worth pointing out that local SEO will improve your conversion rates, as it helps bring more relevant traffic that is already interested in your product. For this reason, your opportunity for making more sales increases, and therefore gets you a better conversion rate. 

3. Leverages local shopping 

In recent years, there has been a widespread shift in consumer buying habits. One of the more notable trends is that consumers are increasingly prioritising local shops and businesses when making purchase decisions. 

According to recent research, consumers are not thinking smaller, and are prioritising local, small, and independent businesses instead of the larger, brand-name experiences or offering they may have been choosing previously. 

One of the main benefits of local SEO is that it places your business in front of local consumers that are looking for the exact services or products you offer. As such, this could enable you to make the most out of this shift in consumer behaviour to expand your business. 

4. Highly targeted traffic

For small businesses, each minute spent handling unqualified leads or prospects who don’t end up making a purchase or hiring your services is money lost. Local SEO optimisation can help reduce irrelevant traffic and time saps that might be preventing your business from operating efficiently, making sure your business is only visible to users in your local area. 

5. Establishes you as an expert in your niche

Performing link-building and content marketing is necessary to establish relevance and prominence, which are the main pillars of SEO rankings. The same activity can help with cultivating a reputation as a thought leader in your field.

Local content marketing will naturally see you talking about your neighbourhood or city and getting involved in your local community. This will not only help to grow your authority and expert vice, but also get clients closer to your business, build brand loyalty, stronger links, and increase engagement. 

In Closing 

As you can see, local SEO can have enormous benefits, especially for small businesses. And while the results won’t be immediate, once you get one of the higher-ranking positions, you will stay there for long enough to enjoy increased conversions and higher brand awareness. Of course, you will need to maintain your SEO efforts to stay on track, but this is a relatively small investment compared to the benefits you’re getting.