On 12 March 2021, PensionsEurope answered to the European Commission targeted consultation on the establishment of a European Single Access Point (ESAP).
PensionsEurope welcomes the initiative of establishing an ESAP, a platform that should primarily be meant to provide useful information for investors, in particular to comply with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), the Taxonomy Regulation and the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). PensionsEurope recommends the European Commission to adopt a phased in approach for the ESAP, firstly focusing on ESG data. An ESAP focusing on ESG is in line with the joint industry letter calling for the creation of a European ESG database. Robust, comparable and reliable ESG data is necessary for identifying and assessing sustainability risks and key for enabling pension funds to steer their portfolios towards sustainability objectives. Pension funds increasingly want to incorporate sustainability considerations in investments but at times face data constrains, as data is not always available or is only available at a significant cost. The ESAP initiative could address this challenge, in combination with an ambitious review of the NFRD. Once the ESAP is up and running, it could be extended to other areas.
In our answer, you can read more about our specific considerations on the objectives/characteristics of the ESAP, on the challenges faced when searching and using data, on the scope of ESAP, on its usability and accessibility, governance, costs and benefits.
