Project

Financial institutions are increasingly compelled by the evolving regulation in sustainable finance and have a growing demand for easily accessible and reliable information on sustainability-related aspects of companies. To establish a common understanding among companies, investors and policymakers regarding environmentally sustainability, the European Commission has introduced the EU taxonomy – a comprehensive classification system for sustainable economic activities across the EU. Under the Taxonomy Regulation, large companies and financial institutions are required to disclose the proportion of their activities aligned with the taxonomy, if their financial products promote environmental or social characteristics or have sustainable investment as their objective. However, applying the EU taxonomy to sustainable investments involving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) poses a significant challenge for European banks. The available data on SMEs, whether from the companies themselves or from independent sources, is often limited and insufficient for a comprehensive assessment using the EU Taxonomy. Addressing this challenge is the primary objective of the CONFESS (Certification of Clean Energy SMEs) project. By developing a certification system specifically tailored for clean energy SMEs based on the EU Taxonomy, the project aims to enhance access to sustainable financing for these SMEs. The goal is to establish the certification system as a widely adopted tool for financial market participants in the EU, enabling them to assess the sustainability of their energy investments, and fostering the growth of sustainable energy investments. To ensure the affordability and feasibility of the certification system for SMEs while providing investors with the essential information, close collaboration and pilot testing will be conducted with various financial institutions, certification bodies, and relevant SMEs from the pilot regions Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic.