EU-Taxonomie

Environmental objectives and criteria

The six environmental objectives are climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, water and marine resources, circular economy, pollution prevention and control, and biodiversity and ecosystems. An activity is taxonomy-aligned if it:

• makes a substantial contribution to at least one objective,
• does no significant harm to any of the other objectives ("Do No Significant Harm"),
• complies with minimum safeguards, for example on human rights, and
• meets the technical screening criteria of the delegated acts.

For the circular economy objective, the criteria name, among others, repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing, the sale of used goods and product-as-a-service models.

Status of reporting obligations

The taxonomy disclosures are linked to sustainability reporting under the CSRD . With the so-called Omnibus package, the EU has significantly reduced the group of companies subject to reporting: in future, mainly companies with more than 1,000 employees and more than 450 million euros in turnover are to report. The amended directive entered into force in March 2026, and member states must implement it by March 2027. Simplifications of taxonomy reporting were published in January 2026. As of: 10/2026. This entry does not replace legal advice.

For IT, the reuse of hardware supplies data for the ESG reporting. How IT hardware counts in the climate balance is shown in our guide Scope 3 emissions of IT hardware. Second IT issues recycling and disposal certificates for CSR and ESG reports.

Frequently asked questions about the EU Taxonomy

What is the EU Taxonomy, explained simply?

An EU-wide set of rules that determines which activities count as environmentally sustainable. It is meant to make greenwashing harder and to steer investment.

Does my company have to report under the taxonomy?

That depends on whether it falls under the CSRD. After the Omnibus package, this mainly affects very large companies. Check the national implementation.

What does the taxonomy have to do with used IT?

The circular economy objective includes activities such as repair, refurbishment and the sale of used goods. Longer use of IT fits this objective.

What are the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy?

Climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, water and marine resources, circular economy, pollution prevention and control, and biodiversity and ecosystems. The basis is Regulation (EU) 2020/852.

When is an activity taxonomy-aligned?

If it makes a substantial contribution to at least one environmental objective, does no significant harm to any other objective, complies with minimum safeguards and meets the technical screening criteria. Companies subject to reporting state shares of turnover, investments and operating expenditure for this.