Most hotels, airlines, cruise and rail lines, DMCs and incentive companies will be affected by the “anti-greenwashing” European Union Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, in effect as of January 2024, when large companies will have to begin collecting data to report in early 2025.
The EU law will affect all publicly held companies, as well as all companies with more than 250 employees, turnover of more than €40 million ($44 million USD) or total assets exceeding €20 million ($22 million USD), as well as non-EU companies with at least one subsidiary in the EU and a net turnover of more than €160 million ($166 million USD).
This article provides a quick overview of the potential impact on the MICE market and on what SITE members need to know.
About the EU Directive
The new “anti-greenwashing” law, considered by many in the legal and management consulting business to be a “game changer,” redefines the concept of “sustainability” by requiring companies subject to the law to make detailed disclosures not only on their environmental goals and practices but on the ways they manage their own employees; the employment practices of the companies in their supply and distribution chains, as well as their management practices for customers, supply chain and distribution partners, and communities.
The core purpose of the law is to reduce greenwashing by large companies and to “level the playing field” by requiring audited, public reporting following a standardized format for ease of comparison, and to enable all stakeholders to assess an organization’s double-materiality; that is, the impact it has on its stakeholders and the environment, including benefits and risks, and the impact stakeholders have on its success, including opportunities and risks.
Reporting begins in January of 2025 for companies with 500 or more employees already subject to the European disclosure laws based on 2024 compared with 2023 data, and January 2026 for all other companies based on 2025 data in comparison with 2024.
Opportunities abound
While the task of creating EU CSRD-compliant corporate sustainability reports seems daunting at first, in actual practice the process can help organizations improve alignment and efficiency by focusing all stakeholders on common strategies, tactics, and goals.
Enterprising destination management companies will help clients identify venues and services in line with their clients’ sustainability objectives.
Travel suppliers focused on sustainability will use the new reporting law to stand out from their less sustainable competitors.
Incentive companies will benefit by helping clients select appropriately sustainable venues and also to improve their employee, customer, and distributor partner engagement practices, as large companies will have to disclose for the first time information on employee turnover, skills development, health and safety, and more.
The new law will also reduce the need for companies to respond to ad hoc requests for sustainability information in various jurisdictions because of its comprehensive requirements and use of widely recognized international standards.
Here are other potential impacts on the SITE community.
Thank you to Bruce Bolger, recipient of SITE’s Richard Ross Past Presidents’ Award at the 2023 Global Conference in New York City this past February.
For those interested in learning more, you can contact Bruce at:
Bruce Bolger, Founder
Enterprise Engagement Alliance at TheEEA.org
1-914-591-7600, ext. 230
