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SUSTAINABLE ACTIVITIES: THE TAXONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

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GRI CONTENT INDEX

GRI CONTENT INDEX

The Regulatory Framework

In order to coordinate efforts to achieve climate and energy goals, and to consistently direct investments toward sustainable projects and initiatives, the European Union has seen fit to define a shared terminology that clearly identifies what can be defined as "sustainable."

Regulation EU 2020/852 on Taxonomy and subsequent EU Delegated Regulations 2021/2139 and 2021/2178 address this very need by defining the requirements that an economic activity must meet to be considered environmentally sustainable. Specifically, it is environmentally sustainable if it contributes substantially to the achievement of one or more of the environmental objectives defined by the Taxonomy: climate change mitigation or adaptation, sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and reduction, and finally protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems. Moreover, to be considered sustainable in achieving one or more of these environmental objectives an economic activity must not cause significant harm to any of the others, must be carried out in compliance with minimum safeguards, and must comply with the prescribed technical screening criteria.

Based on Article 8 of the Regulations, starting with publications after January 1, 2022, in the Non-Financial Statement nonfinancial enterprises are required to report several indicators representative of economic operations that are considered environmentally sustainable and related to their share of turnover, capital expenditures, and operating expenses.

The Taxonomy Regulation and Delegated Regulations can be found on the EU website.

As recalled in the Methodological Note, Comer Industries prepares the NFS on a voluntary basis. However, consistent with its sustainability and transparency reporting commitments, it decided to also conduct an assessment on the eligibility and alignment of its economic activities with the requirements defined in the Regulations, also taking into account the interpretative clarifications provided by the European Commission, and to voluntarily include the disclosure in the 2022 NFS.

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