US Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Paul Atkins said he has “significant concerns” over the double materiality approach to sustainability reporting required by the EU’s CSRD, in a keynote speech delivered to the OECD Roundtable on Global Financial Markets today (10 September).
He described financial materiality as a “pillar of maximizing the efficient flow of capital” and highlighted how the CSRD and CSDDD will impact US companies operating in the USA.
While acknowledging the ongoing efforts to simplify both laws, Atkins said “further work remains to refocus regulatory regimes on the principle of financial, instead of double, materiality”.
“Indeed, as Europe seeks to promote its capital markets by attracting more companies and investment, it should focus on reducing unnecessary reporting burdens on issuers rather than pursuing ends that are unrelated to the economic success of companies and to the well-being of their shareholders,” he added.