Italian Sustainable Investment Forum
Climate risk management, sustainability-related claims and ESG reporting
Application of the EBA Guidelines on ESG risks. Guidance on sustainability disclosures for financial products.
Enhancing the management of ESG risks and improving the reporting of sustainability practices are the two objectives underpinning several recent regulatory developments in sustainable finance at both the European and Italian levels.
Guidelines on ESG Risks
As of 11 January 2026, the European Banking Authority (EBA) Guidelines on ESG risks entered into force. The document, published in January 2025, sets out how banks and other financial institutions must incorporate ESG risks into their governance frameworks and business strategies. The Guidelines provide detailed indications on the type of sustainability information that institutions should request from corporate counterparties, with the aim of ensuring proper identification, measurement, management and monitoring of ESG risk exposures.
Transparency in sustainability claims
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a thematic note on sustainability-related claims relating to financial products. In particular, the guidance focuses on the use of ESG-related terminology in marketing communications for products adopting two specific ESG approaches: ESG integration and ESG exclusions. The publication provides practical “do’s and don’ts” for sustainability claims, illustrated through concrete examples of good and poor practices. According to the Authority, financial market participants should ensure that sustainability disclosures are accurate, accessible, evidence-based and kept up to date. For example, ESMA recommends clearly explaining where and how ESG factors are integrated into the investment process, including a link to the materiality assessment methodology applied. Similarly, it advises explicitly outlining exclusion criteria within marketing materials.
ECB activities on sustainability
The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced the completion of its Climate and Nature Plan 2024–2025. Over the past two years, the ECB’s actions have focused on strengthening the integration of climate and environmental considerations into the monetary policy framework. In addition, the ECB has enhanced the availability and reliability of ESG data and strengthened banks’ capabilities to assess environmental risks. These efforts have also strengthened supervisory activities and improved internal operational processes. Looking ahead, the ECB has identified supporting the market in achieving transition objectives as a key priority. To this end, it will focus in particular on enhancing resilience to the physical impacts of climate change and deepening the analysis of nature-related financial risks.
Supporting companies in sustainability reporting activities
At the Italian level, the Sustainable Finance Working Group of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has published an “Interoperability Table” mapping the “Sustainability Dialogue Document between SMEs and Banks” against the Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for SMEs (VSME) developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG).
This practical tool helps companies and financial intermediaries understand which information requirements under the SME–Bank Document are already aligned with the VSME standard, which require adjustments, and which are specific to the bank–company relationship in the Italian context. Among the indicators addressing the same topics as the VSME but requiring data adaptation or further granularity to be suitable for banking processes are KPIs relating to general information, corporate structure and workforce, and business conduct. Indicators not covered by the VSME - designed to capture aspects relevant to ESG risk assessment and to reflect certain national specificities (such as the regulatory treatment of catastrophic risks) - include information on climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as KPIs related to environmental, social and workforce matters.
