Platform On Sustainable Finance Publishes Final Report On Minimum Safeguards

Introduction

One of the four conditions an economic activity must meet to qualify as environmentally sustainable under Article 18 of the EU Taxonomy Regulation (Regulation) is adherence to the "Minimum Safeguards".

The Regulation describes the Minimum Safeguards as "procedures implemented by an undertaking that is carrying out an economic activity to ensure the alignment with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines) and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)".

In other words, no matter how environmentally "green" an activity is, it will not qualify as environmentally sustainable under the Regulation if the relevant undertaking has not implemented appropriate measures, aligned to the UNGPs and OECD Guidelines, to mitigate human rights risks.