8NOVEMBER 2023OPINIONIN MYOver the past few years, the attention of companies, investors, and, in general, all their stakeholders, has increasingly turned to issues such as the assessment of the impact of processes, products, and services on natural resources, the implementation of safeguards aimed at their correct use in the production process, the evaluation of measures taken to ensure the rights, health, and safety of workers, and the definition and implementation of principles of corporate governance and corporate behavior that guide the conduct of the business activity. As a result of increasing collective awareness of key issues such as the effects of climate change and growing social inequalities, these issues have become priorities.The main aim of the increased focus on these matters is to promote long-term value creation for shareholders, communities, and the local areas through sustained growth in wages, labor productivity, job creation, profits, and remuneration to shareholders, as well as disclosing expenditure on research and development, investments, promotion of human capital as indicated in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda issued by the United Nations in 2015.The banking industry, as one of the main financing sources within the economic system, is an essential component of the international framework. For this reason, the European Union, in the `EU Action Plan for Financing Sustainable Growth', identified financing activities as a key factor in the transition process, reorienting capital flows towards to a more sustainable economy. Banks must, therefore, improve the management of their `material ESG risks' and increasingly integrate ESG factors into their lending activities, also by adopting dedicated financial instruments such as `sustainability-linked and/or ``green' loans,'` bonds' or securitizations.' They will also have to consider how to integrate ESG risks within the Pillar 2 processes (i.e. capital adequacy), in ICAAP reporting and, consequently, in the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP), while also strengthening their market disclosures on `ESG related financial risks.'THE ROLE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND THE INTEGRATED REPORTING SYSTEM IN LIGHT OF THE NEW EUROPEAN DIRECTIVE AS REGARDS CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING (CSRD)By Sergio Fagioli, Head of Administration & Accounting, illimitySergio Fagioli
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