"Shift letter urges European Commission to drop asset management exemption from ESRS", 3 June 2026

Shift has published an open letter calling for the European Commission to drop a proposal that would exempt asset managers from key sustainability reporting requirements.

The letter, sent to European Commissioner Maria Luis Albuquerque, was jointly written by Shift, WWF, Frank Bold, The European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif), The European Federation of Financial Analyst Societies (EFFAS) and the European Trade Union Conference (ETUC). It urges the commission to remove the proposal in the final version of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, which is due to be published in the coming months...

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Even where investment mandates follow client instructions, asset managers retain significant discretion over portfolio construction, stewardship, engagement, voting and sustainability integration. Without reporting on managed assets, investors, beneficiaries, supervisors and other stakeholders will have limited ability to assess whether sustainability commitments are being effectively implemented. Actual portfolio holdings provide the most objective evidence of how policies translate into practice — rather than merely described in theory. Removing this transparency would undermine accountability, weaken public trust and increase greenwashing risk.

We therefore strongly urge the European Commission to refrain from including ESRS 1 – AR17 in the final Delegated Regulation...