Laura Kaspar

Laura is a Senior Analyst at Climate & Company and an expert in corporate sustainability reporting. Previously, she was an auditor at the European Court of Auditors, where she audited the European Union’s Sustainable Finance legislation and conducted numerous trainings for the Court’s departments.

Laura has a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and is a trained sustainability manager with a focus on reporting, stakeholder communication and corporate governance. As a true Tyrolean mountain girl, she spends most of her time discovering Austria’s natural wonders.

Latest released papers

Publication

Public Consultation: Feedback on the voluntary SME standard

May 29, 2024 - Climate & Company is proud to announce our active participation in the public consultation for the draft of the voluntary SME standard developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). This initiative marks a significant step towards enhancing the sustainability reporting framework for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Europe. Climate & Company is proud to announce our active participation in the public consultation for the draft of the voluntary Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) standard developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). This initiative marks a significant step towards enhancing the sustainability reporting framework for SMEs across Europe. Project Presentation From February to May 2024, Climate & Company organised a series of workshops in the Stuttgart area, in collaboration with the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism. These workshops aimed to familiarise 5-10 SMEs with EFRAG's draft voluntary SME standard, enabling them to implement essential…

Publication

Public Consultation: Feedback on the ESRS Set 1 Delegated Act

July 7, 2023 - This policy brief highlights our main observations and messages regarding the European Commission’s Draft Delegated Act public consultation. This Delegated Act sets out the cross-cutting standards and standards for the disclosure of environmental, social and governance information (ESRS Set 1) of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires actors under its scope (large companies and listed companies) to disclose information on their ESG related risks and opportunities, essential to help investors and others stakeholders evaluate the sustainability performance of companies. What's in it? In this publication, we highlight our main observations and messages regarding the European Commission’s Draft Delegated Act public consultation. This Delegated Act sets out the cross-cutting standards and standards for the disclosure of environmental, social and governance information (ESRS Set 1) of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires actors under its scope (large companies and listed companies) to disclose information on their ESG related risks and opportunities, essential to help investors and other stakeholders evaluate the sustainability performance of companies. Our observations can be summarised in the following messages: Do not further divide the current…

Publication

Comparative Analysis of Upcoming Disclosure Standards: Key Steps to Raise Ambition (and the case of deforestation)

January 19, 2023 - ANALYSIS: “Comparative Analysis of Upcoming Disclosure Standards: Key Steps to Raise Ambition (and the case of deforestation)” What's in it? An ambitious and internationally-harmonised disclosure landscape is crucial for enabling financial market participants to evaluate and price-in sustainability risks and impacts when making investment decisions. This study structurally analyses three proposals for sustainability and climate-related disclosure standards, published by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March and April 2022, along our ‘seven building blocks for effective disclosure standards’. For each building block, we evaluate…

Publication

Sustainability due diligence and reporting obligations for financial institutions in EU policies

December 5, 2022 - An overview of the respective obligations for financial institutions across a core set of EU regulatory measures related to sustainability disclosure and due diligence, drawing on the case of deforestation-related risks and impacts.To date, the financial sector plays a significant role in funding investments that contribute to deforestation. Therefore, financial institutions have a crucial role to play in curbing deforestation and associated land-use change, which are key drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss. With this brief, our team at Climate & Company, together with our partners at Germanwatch, aims to provide for a clear understanding of the obligations to expect for financial institutions under each of the relevant recent EU regulatory measures related to sustainability disclosure and due diligence. The case of deforestation This is done by illustrating the respective obligations…

Publication

Bridging sustainable finance and sustainable land use initiatives to reduce deforestation: An overview of EU and Brazilian legislation

November 28, 2022 - This technical briefing highlights sustainable finance and sustainable land-use regulations in Brazil and the EU and aims to support regulatory cooperation between the two.Supporting regulatory cooperation on anti-deforestation between Brazil and the European Union Land use change contributes to 23% of global emissions and leads to high biodiversity loss. Deforestation is a major threat to both. Sustainable finance is about “shifting the trillions” from unsustainable towards sustainable economic activities. Therefore, cooperation on anti-deforestation regulation between Brazil and the EU needs to be fostered. To illustrate this, in this policy brief we address the following questions: How can the sustainable finance toolbox support transformation in the land-use sector? What are the EU's plans to halt deforestation caused through its supply chains? And what regulations…

Publication

Our Remarks on the European Sustainability Reporting Standards

- These are our comments to EFRAG's draft of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) with a focus on improving disclosure requirements to reveal unsustainable economic activities that contribute to deforestation.Our comments to the ESRS drafts by EFRAG are the product of an intense collaboration with a group of international experts on topics including agriculture, biodiversity, forestry, the circular economy and more. Our goal is raising the ambition of the ESRS to effectively use disclosure requirements as a powerful tool to uncover economic activities related to deforestation and help revert land use change, biodiversity loss and climate change. Besides the cross-cutting and topical standards included in the ESRS, EFRAG is currently focusing on the development of 40 sector standards. We will thus continue our collaboration with experts to provide valuable…

Publication

Make EU economic governance fit for climate neutrality : time to reform the European Semester

March 17, 2022 - This paper analyses how the EU’s economic surveillance & coordination mechanism can be made a key lever for the green transition in all Member States.Published ahead of our online conference ‘A new Economic Governance for the EU Green Deal?', this paper analyses how the EU’s economic surveillance & coordination mechanism can be made a key lever for the green transition in all Member States. Read the full paper to discover the 5 identified reform proposals to enhance the European Semester and make it fit to deliver the Green Deal targets. If you are interested in this topic, listen to the recording of a panel of key international experts on the 6th of April during our online conference. [dflip id="3095" ][/dflip]

Publication

Comparing National Reform Programmes of the European Semester: Insights

February 21, 2022 - This short briefing gives insights on the importance and the current state of play of (ex-post) economic, fiscal and employment policy evaluation in the context of the European Semester.Released in February 2022, this short briefing gives insights on the importance and the current state of play of (ex-post) economic, fiscal and employment policy evaluation in the context of the European Semester. [dflip id="3092" ][/dflip]

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Laura Kaspar

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Latest released papers

Public Consultation: Feedback on the voluntary SME standard

Public Consultation: Feedback on the ESRS Set 1 Delegated Act

Comparative Analysis of Upcoming Disclosure Standards: Key Steps to Raise Ambition (and the case of deforestation)

Sustainability due diligence and reporting obligations for financial institutions in EU policies

Bridging sustainable finance and sustainable land use initiatives to reduce deforestation: An overview of EU and Brazilian legislation

Our Remarks on the European Sustainability Reporting Standards

Make EU economic governance fit for climate neutrality : time to reform the European Semester

Comparing National Reform Programmes of the European Semester: Insights

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