Direct Lobbying Transparency
| Overall Assessment | Comment | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Strong | Erste Group Bank AG offers a generally clear picture of its climate-related lobbying, but it concentrates almost entirely on a single initiative – the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the associated “EU Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).” The bank explains how it engages, noting it provided “feedback to EFRAG’s consultation on the EFRAG EU Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS),” took part in “stakeholder consultations” run by the European Commission, and maintained “constructive dialogue with legislative bodies on EU as well as on national level.” It also identifies the specific targets of these activities, such as “EFRAG,” the “European Parliament (EP), the Council and the European Commission (EC),” demonstrating a high level of transparency on the mechanisms and audiences of its advocacy. The company is equally explicit about what it wants to achieve: it seeks to make certain disclosures voluntary by “changing the disclosure requirements, which are not proportionate to all undertakings, to voluntary disclosures,” calls for a “phase-in process” for mandatory sector-agnostic standards, insists that “the administrative burden for undertakings must remain proportional,” and argues for keeping “the current intra-group exemption” for subsidiaries. While these detailed positions and justifications show a clear line of sight from engagement to desired outcome, the disclosure is focused on one principal policy area, so the breadth of policy coverage remains limited. | 3 |