ESG regulatory landscape is
complex and
time-consuming.
We support you in implementing
it strategically
and efficiently.
This helps you reduce risks,
build trust and gain a
competitive advantage.
The ESG landscape is evolving rapidly. Regulatory requirements continue to change, supervisory expectations are becoming more detailed, and organizations increasingly need to demonstrate how sustainability considerations are embedded into governance, risk management, business decisions and operations.
At the same time, institutions face growing pressure to balance strategic ambitions with evolving compliance requirements and increasing scrutiny from regulators, investors and other stakeholders.
ADVANTA helps institutions and organizations navigate the ESG-landscape with a pragmatic and data-driven risk-focused approach. Our focus is to enable sustainable business decisions aligned with existing operating models while ensuring regulatory and audit readiness.
The ESG regulatory landscape continues to evolve rapidly. We analyze applicable national and European ESG requirements and good practices, perform ESG readiness checks and translate regulatory expectations into roadmaps for strategic transformation, while enabling audit-ready compliance.
We help organizations define a sustainability strategy aligned with their business objectives, regulatory requirements and long-term ambitions. At the same time, we establish the governance, accountability and oversight structures required to translate strategic priorities into effective decision-making and operational execution.
The transition towards a more sustainable business model requires clear objectives, credible CRD transition plans and measurable performance indicators. We assist organizations in defining targets, designing pathways, ensuring alignment with CSRD and CSDDD plans, and establishing KPIs and KRIs that support effective monitoring and informed decision-making.
We support organizations in integrating ESG into existing risk management frameworks, while extending the scope of prior climate risk assessments to Social and Governance risks and considering complexities of biodiversity risks. For the holistic assessment we apply sector-based, portfolio-based, as well as scenario-based approaches to evaluate ESG risk impacts.
Sustainability risks increasingly influence credit quality and portfolio resilience. We help organizations integrate ESG considerations into credit life cycle by strengthening customer engagement and refining pricing approaches.
Growing supervisory focus on ESG risks leads to increasingly detailed assessments. We support organizations in preparing for and conducting ESG-related on-site inspections by reviewing required documentation, identifying gaps and developing strategic angles for discussion before the review, and by coordinating the organisation, data collection and interviews throughout the exercise.
Supervisory attention is extending beyond climate covering also nature-related risks, with ECB Thematic Review disclosing that 96% of institutions still have gaps in identifying and assessing these risks. We support the development of scenario design as well as long-term climate resilience analysis to help organizations evaluate climate and nature risks and their strategic implications.
We support organizations in integrating ESG considerations into internal audit activities, audit planning and methodologies. Our approach focuses on strengthening governance, controls and compliance readiness through risk-based ESG assurance.
We provide clarity in the regulatory ESG landscape and assist in the preparation of sustainability reports, by advising on the implementation of current ESG regulations (CSRD, EU taxonomy, SFDR, etc.), conducting gap assessments and materiality analyses, and establishing internal processes for ESG disclosure and compliance.
Are you interested in a particular ESG topic, or facing a specific ESG-related challenge?
Book an informative briefing with our experts!
In view of the growing relevance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks in the financial world, the European Banking Authority (EBA) has published the EBA Guidelines on ESG Risk Management. These guidelines require banks to systematically integrate ESG risks into their risk management. The stricter requirements apply not only to large banks, but also to smaller and less complex institutions.
25 min
Ecological change is no longer a distant vision of the future, but already a reality. With the European Green Deal, the European Union is pursuing the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050. For companies, especially financial institutions, this means that sustainability is becoming a corporate obligation. In this context, so-called transition plans are becoming increasingly important.
25 min
The new §§ 26c and 26d of the German Banking Act (KWG) require financial institutions to systematically integrate ESG risks into their strategy, governance and risk management. The ESG Risk Plan will serve as a central instrument for assessing risks across different time horizons and translating them into clear objectives, measures and steering processes.
25 min
Omnibus package fundamentally reshapes the European sustainability regulatory framework and aims to reduce administrative burdens for companies. The scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) has been narrowed, obligations have been reduced and implementation timelines have been adjusted. Since July 2026, the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) have also been available, introducing significantly fewer datapoints, streamlined processes and a new voluntary sustainability reporting standard.
25 min
Climate Ambition Remains Anchor
EU remains committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
Geopolitical and Economic Pressures
Energy security concerns, geopolitical developments and supply disruptions increasingly affect transition financing needs and institutions' strategic planning.
Uncertainty and Reporting Simplification
Ongoing simplification of the European sustainability framework by policy reviews and Omnibus, have introduced additional uncertainty regarding timing and scope expectations.
Increased Supervisory Oversight
Climate and nature resilience is placed at the top of both ECB's Supervisory Priorities 2026-2028 and BaFin „Risiken im Fokus 2026", with EBA Guidelines of ESG risk management and environmental scenario analysis reaching full scope by January 2027, and Germany's MaRisk sharpening ESG expectations.
Accelerating Enforcement and Greenwashing Risks
The ECB issued its first ever periodic penalties of EUR 187,650 in November 2025 and EUR 7,551,050 in February 2026 for climate risk non-compliance. In total 22 potential periodic penalty payments were issued since 2022. This complements EBA efforts to address greenwashing risks with revised Guidelines on Product Oversight and Governance.
Crisis is in Overdrive
EU land temperatures are running ~2.2 °C above pre-industrial levels – faster than the 1.3 °C global averages. As UN Secretary-General Guterres stated in July 2026: „… the climate crisis is in overdrive".
Climate Change Is a European Reality
Physical climate events have cost the EU an estimated EUR 822 bill. in economic losses since 1980.
Delivery Gap is Widening
Capital pledged by EU institutions and organizations to Net-Zero transition continues to outpace capital deployed, emphasizing the need for structural reforms and good business conditions.
We assess existing governance structures, processes, controls and frameworks. Based on an ESG regulatory inventory and best practices, we identify applicable ESG requirements, assess current maturity levels and jointly define the scope and ambition of the transformation. A targeted remediation roadmap is then developed to address identified gaps.
We develop a pragmatic target framework aligned with your strategic ESG ambition and minimum compliance requirements. Solutions are tailored to existing operating models and integrated into governance, risk management, business and IT processes while ensuring active involvement of all relevant stakeholders.
We challenge and refine solutions through cross-functional reviews involving strategy, risk, business and IT functions. Solutions are continuously adapted to regulatory developments, supervisory feedback and outcomes from parallel transformation initiatives.
We deliver future-state frameworks, training as well as a comprehensive and audit-ready documentation that ensures transparency, and traceability.
Managing Director,
Auditor
Lena Franke is a managing partner at ADVANTA. As an auditor and consultant, she supports financial institutions and organisations with risk management and governance topics as well as the implementation of regulatory and ESG-related requirements.
Manager Advisory,
Head of ESG
Olya Kolesnikova is a manager at ADVANTA. As an expert in risk management, governance, compliance, and ESG, she supports financial institutions and organisations with regulatory requirements as well as the transformation and automation of processes.