EU Taxonomy Article 8 Review / JRC Oct. 2026

EU Taxonomy Article 8 Review / JRC Oct. 2026

ID 27238 | 05.10.2026

This study examines selected implementation challenges under Article 8 of the EU Taxonomy Regulation, focusing on the non-financial operating expenditure (OpEx) KPI, including the relevance of R&D OpEx, and group-level Taxonomy reporting. 

It combines firm-level ownership and sector data, R&D investment data, and early disclosures under the Taxonomy regulation to assess the materiality, usability and comparability of current reporting requirements. 

The analysis shows that group-level Taxonomy reporting is complicated by the structure of mixed groups and financial conglomerates.

Evidence from early disclosures further suggests that firms frequently report OpEx categories in aggregated form, limiting comparability and usefulness for policymakers and investors.

Furthermore, limiting OpEx reporting to R&D expenditure alone may make this KPI materially relevant only in a limited number of sectors.

The findings support two main policy directions: the development of harmonised rules for group-level Taxonomy reporting and the simplification of the OpEx KPI.

The report is intended to support the Commission services in the ongoing review of the Taxonomy disclosure requirements laid down in the Disclosures Delegated Act and is without prejudice to any future policy developments.
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Background and policy problem 

The EU Taxonomy Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/852) aims to improve transparency and promote investment in environmentally sustainable economic activities.

Under Article 8, undertakings subject to an obligation to publish non-financial statements must disclose turnover, capital expenditures (CapEx) and operating expenditure (OpEx) that qualify as environmentally sustainable according to the Regulation definition (the Taxonomy KPIs).

The so-called Disclosures Delegated Act (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178) specifies how relevant KPIs should be calculated.

This Delegated Act is under revision as part of the simplification efforts undertaken by the European Commission. In this context, in March 2026 the Commission has asked the European Supervisory Authorities – the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) – for technical advice.

In its call for advice, together with other issues, the Commission has raised concerns about the OpEx KPI, notably because of its narrow scope, its weak link to accounting categories, and its varying relevance across business models. In parallel, increasingly complex corporate group structures have raised questions about how Taxonomy KPIs should be calculated at group level.

Against this background, this report provides empirical evidence for the reform of the Disclosures Delegated Act (DDA) by presenting evidence on three selected issues:

i) the structure and heterogeneity of corporate groups in scope;
ii) the relevance of an OpEx KPI solely based on research and development (R&D) expenditure; and
iii) actual reporting practice for Taxonomy OpEx in early disclosures under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). 
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Regolamento delegato (UE) 2021/2178

Articolo 8 Trasparenza delle imprese nelle dichiarazioni di carattere non finanziario

1. Qualsiasi impresa soggetta all’obbligo di pubblicare informazioni di carattere non finanziario ai sensi dell’articolo 19 bis o dell’articolo 29 bis della direttiva 2013/34/UE include, nella dichiarazione di carattere non finanziario o nella dichiarazione consolidata di carattere non finanziario, informazioni su come e in che misura le attività dell’impresa sono associate ad attività economiche considerate ecosostenibili ai sensi degli articoli 3 e 9 del presente regolamento.

2. In particolare, le imprese non finanziarie comunicano quanto segue: a) la quota del loro fatturato proveniente da prodotti o servizi associati ad attività economiche considerate ecosostenibili ai sensi degli articoli 3 e 9; e b) la quota delle loro spese in conto capitale e la quota delle spese operative relativa ad attivi o processi associati ad attività economiche considerate ecosostenibili ai sensi degli articoli 3 e 9. 3.

Se un’impresa pubblica informazioni di carattere non finanziario ai sensi dell’articolo 19 bis o dell’articolo 29 bis della direttiva 2013/34/UE in una relazione distinta conformemente all’articolo 19 bis, paragrafo 4, o all’articolo 29 bis, paragrafo 4, di tale direttiva, le informazioni di cui ai paragrafi 1 e 2 del presente articolo sono pubblicate nella relazione distinta. 4.

La Commissione adotta un atto delegato conformemente all’articolo 23 al fine di integrare i paragrafi 1 e 2 del presente articolo per precisare il contenuto e la presentazione delle informazioni da comunicare in conformità di tali paragrafi, compresa la metodologia da utilizzare al fine di rispettarli, tenendo conto delle specificità delle imprese finanziarie e non finanziarie e dei criteri di vaglio tecnico fissati a norma del presente regolamento.

La Commissione adotta tale atto delegato entro il 1° giugno 2021. (Regolamento delegato (UE) 2021/2178 / ndr)
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Collegati
Regolamento (UE) 2020/852
Regolamento delegato (UE) 2021/2178