1. Introduction
In today’s world, businesses are increasingly expected to minimize their environmental impact. A key part of this responsibility involves setting and disclosing targets related to pollution. This ensures transparency and accountability in how companies manage pollution-related risks and opportunities. In this article, we'll explain the requirements for companies to disclose their pollution-related targets.
How companies can effectively disclose this information will be covered in another article.
2. Targets
Targets are specific goals or objectives that an organization sets to achieve within a certain timeframe. These targets help guide the organization’s efforts and measure its progress. For example, a company might set a target to reduce its pollutants emitted into the air by 20% over the next five years.
Setting and Disclosing Targets
Companies need to clearly outline the pollution-related targets they have set. These targets should support their pollution management policies and address their significant pollution impacts, risks, and opportunities. Specifically, companies should disclose targets related to:
Air pollutants: Specific loads of pollutants emitted into the air.
Emissions to water: Specific loads of pollutants released into water bodies.
Soil pollution: Specific loads of pollutants that affect the soil.
Substances of concern: Management of harmful substances, including those of very high concern.
Consideration of Ecological Thresholds
In addition to general pollution targets, companies can also disclose if they have considered ecological thresholds (limits beyond which environmental damage occurs) when setting their targets. If so, they should provide details on:
Identified thresholds: Which ecological limits were identified and the methods used.
Entity-specific allocations: How these thresholds were tailored to the company’s specific operations.
Responsibility allocation: How the company ensures compliance with these thresholds.
Context of Targets
It's important for companies to clarify whether their targets are mandatory, as required by law, or voluntary. This helps stakeholders understand the company's level of commitment and regulatory compliance in its pollution management efforts.
Companies must set and disclose specific targets for managing air, water, and soil pollution, as well as harmful substances, to support their pollution-related policies. They should also indicate if these targets are mandatory or voluntary and consider ecological thresholds where applicable.
3. Conclusion
Setting and disclosing pollution-related targets is a crucial step for companies committed to environmental sustainability. By clearly communicating these targets, including their scope and context, businesses can demonstrate their proactive approach to managing pollution.
In an upcoming article, we will explore how companies can report on these disclosures. Subscribe to stay updated.
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Relevant Standards
ESRS E2
Disclosure Requirement E2-3 – Targets related to pollution
20. The undertaking shall disclose the pollution-related targets it has set.
21. The objective of this Disclosure Requirement is to enable an understanding of the targetsthe undertaking has set to support its pollution-related policies and to address its material pollution-related impacts, risks and opportunities.
22. The description of targets shall contain the information requirements defined in ESRS 2 MDR-T Tracking effectiveness of policies and actions through targets.
23. The disclosure required by paragraph 20 shall indicate whether and how its targets relate to the prevention and control of:
(a) air pollutants and respective specific loads;
(b) emissions to water and respective specific loads;
(c) pollution to soil and respective specific loads; and
(d) substances of concern and substances of very high concern.
24. In addition to ESRS 2 MDR-T, the undertaking may specify whether ecological thresholds (e.g., the biosphere integrity, stratospheric ozone-depletion, atmospheric aerosol loading, soil depletion, ocean acidification) and entity-specific allocations were taken into consideration when setting targets. If so, the undertaking may specify:
(a) the ecological thresholds identified, and the methodology used to identify such thresholds;
(b) whether or not the thresholds are entity-specific and if so, how they weredetermined; and
(c) how responsibility for respecting identified ecological thresholds is allocated in the undertaking.
25. The undertaking shall specify as part of the contextual information, whether the targets that it has set and presented are mandatory (required by legislation) or voluntary.