SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Richard Engblom, Per Josephson, Anna Cumzelius and Amin Bell, Harvest Advokatbyrå
A key development in Sweden with regard to the ESG regulatory framework is that the implemen - tation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) was delayed, and the national rules started applying from 1 July 2024 instead of 1 January 2024. As a consequence, most large companies (depending on the financial year) that are first to report will not have to do so until 2026, for the financial year of 2025. EU Developments The regulatory framework for ESG-related issues is growing in the financial sector. Although the main focus so far has been on channelling investments into sustainable finance projects, there are several initiatives also affecting the banking sector. The sector-agnostic European Sustainabil - ity Reporting Standards (ESRS) developed by the European Commission’s expert group, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), came into force and started applying from 1 January 2024. During 2024, EFRAG also published its XBRL Taxonomy for the first set of ESRS, which enables digital tagging. In December 2023, the EBA responded to the European Commission’s request for advice on green loans and mortgages by proposing a voluntary EU green loan label, addressing the currently limited share of green lending in the banking sector. The proposal recommended a flexible framework based on the EU Taxonomy while maintaining alignment with environmen - tal objectives, suggesting that the label should provide clear information about long-term ben - efits of energy-efficient investments and avail - able financial support schemes. Additionally, the EBA recommended incorporating green mort - gage concepts into the Mortgage Credit Direc - tive, including energy performance certificates
in pre-contractual information and enhancing related competencies. These recommendations, developed from a survey of 83 credit institutions across 27 EEA countries, aim to boost green lending, particularly in building renovation and SME sectors, to help achieve the EU’s sustain - ability objectives. In June 2024, the European Supervisory Authori - ties (ESAs) outlined their unified approach to addressing greenwashing. The EBA’s final report specifically highlighted a concerning increase in greenwashing cases in 2023 (+21.1% globally, +26.1% in EU), emphasising its growing impact on banks, investment firms, and payment ser - vice providers. While the EBA believes the cur - rent regulatory framework provides adequate foundations to address greenwashing, they recommended that institutions implement spe - cific measures at both entity and product levels to ensure accuracy and clarity in sustainability claims, and that competent authorities continue their supervisory efforts. The ESAs acknowl - edged that effectively combating greenwashing requires global co-operation and interoperable sustainability disclosure standards, with a focus on maintaining market confidence and investor trust as the financial sector transitions toward sustainability. 10. DORA 10.1 DORA Requirements National legislative measures related to DORA As of 17 January 2025, the rules set out in Regu - lation (EU) 2022/2554 of the European Parlia - ment and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on digital operational resilience for the financial sector (DORA) will apply within the Union, mean - ing that the vast majority of financial undertak -
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