ESMA to launch and participate in Common Supervisory Action on ESG disclosures for Benchmarks Administrators

The CSA will focus on supervised benchmarks administrators, located either in the Union or in a third country, that have acquired an authorisation, registration, recognition or endorsement of their benchmarks under the BMR.  The goal of the CSA will be to assess compliance of the supervised Benchmarks Administrators with the ESG disclosure requirements in the BMR. The CSA will cover the following aspects: 

• disclosure of ESG factors in the benchmarks statement and in the benchmarks methodology; 
• specific disclosure requirements regarding climate benchmarks methodology. 

ESMA believes this initiative, and the related sharing of practices across the competent authorities, will help ensure consistent and effective supervision of the ESG disclosures of supervised administrators across the Union, and enhance the comparability of the information provided to users of benchmarks.  The CSA contributes to enhancing transparency and addressing greenwashing, one of ESMA’s Union Strategic Supervisory Priorities for NCAs, with a view to protecting investors and further supporting the development of a credible ESG market. 

Next steps

ESMA and the NCAs will carry out the CSA during 2024 and until Q1 2025.  As part of the CSA, ESMA and the NCAs will share knowledge and experiences to foster convergence in how they supervise ESG disclosure requirements for benchmark administrators.

Further information:

Sarah Edwards 

Senior Communications Officer
@ press@esma.europa.eu