Marlena Maląg – Minister of Family and Social Policy, Vice-President of the Social Dialogue Council took part in the plenary meeting of the Council on „Is the Polish economy prepared for ESG reporting”.

The meeting took place on January 25, 2023. The government side was represented by: Waldemar Buda – Minister of Development and Technology, Marcin Horała – Secretary of State in the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Piotr Patkowski – Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Finance, Piotr Pyzik – Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of State Assets, Piotr Bromber – Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Health and representatives of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland.

The President of the Management Board of Employers of Poland – Rafał Baniak as the proposer of the topic informed that in December 2022 the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (hereinafter referred to as the CSRD Directive) was published. The CSRD will replace the current Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) 2014/95/EU. He announced that the process of implementing this directive is currently underway, which provides for the introduction of the obligation to report non-financial ESG issues (data in the area of environmental (E), social (S) and corporate governance (G) by all large companies and large capital groups (including large listed companies), significantly expanding the number of entities obliged to report. He pointed out that compliance with the directive on social responsibility will be a major challenge for entrepreneurs. The new requirements will be introduced gradually: from 2025, reporting will cover all companies that currently report under the outgoing directive, from 2026 all large enterprises and from 2027 small and medium-sized enterprises excluding micro.

He stressed that it is important from the point of view of employers to include not only company management boards, but also the social side – employees, including trade unions operating on the premises of companies. He asked for the establishment of an ad hoc team in order to develop specific opinions and positions on matters arising from the provisions of the CSRD Directive.

Deputy Minister Piotr Patkowski informed that the Ministry of Finance is responsible for the implementation of the directive on corporate reporting in the field of sustainable development. He announced that the deadline for the implementation of the directive is scheduled for July 2024. Then he informed that the Ministry of Finance will propose in the first quarter. Br.  commencement of pre-consultations before entry into the list of legislative and programme works of the government and the decision of the Government Work Programming Team. Then, after obtaining an entry in the list of legislative works of the government, consultations and public agreements and then work in Parliament.

According to the Deputy Minister, it is important for social partners to interpret the provisions resulting from the implementation of the above-mentioned directive. He said that the Ministry of Finance is open to talks with social partners on the interpretation and application of the regulations.

Then a representative of the Ministry of Finance informed that one of the key changes in reporting is the introduction of uniform European Standards for Sustainable Development Reporting. According to the timetable presented by the European Commission, the first set of baseline standards for large undertakings should be adopted by 30 June 2023. Then, a year later, it is proposed to adopt complementary sectoral standards, as well as a package of simplified standards for small and medium-sized entities, excluding micro ones. The European Commission is currently consulting EU bodies and Member States on draft standards.

Source: https://www.gov.pl/web/dialog/posiedzenie-plenarne-rady-dialogu-spolecznego19

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.