The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) reporting tool

The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), formally Regulation (EU) 2019/2088, is an EU regulation aimed at increasing transparency and standardisation in sustainability-related disclosures by financial market participants. It requires them to disclose how they integrate sustainability risks into investment decisions and how their products affect the environment and society.

By disclosing how environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are integrated into their processes, firms can build trust with investors, comply with EU regulatory requirements and attract sustainability-focused capital. SFDR reporting also helps firms identify and manage long-term risks, align with global climate goals and demonstrate their commitment to responsible business practices.

SFDR applies to financial market participants and financial advisers. The full scope is explained in our SFDR regulation guide.

SFDR came into application on 10 March 2021, and the detailed Regulatory Technical Standards under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 have applied since 1 January 2023.

No. SFDR requires transparency about sustainability practices and impacts, however conventional or green the product is. The risk it targets is greenwashing: products claiming sustainability characteristics they cannot substantiate.

SFDR sorts financial products into three tiers: Articles 6, 8 and 9. Article 6 is the baseline. It covers how sustainability risks are integrated into investment decisions, and it is the category for products that neither promote environmental or social characteristics nor have a sustainable investment objective. Article 8 covers products that promote environmental or social characteristics. Its pre-contractual disclosure falls under Article 8, paragraphs 1, 2 and 2a, of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 and Article 6, first paragraph, of Regulation (EU) 2020/852. Article 9 covers products with sustainable investment as their objective. Its pre-contractual disclosure falls under Article 9, paragraphs 1 to 4a, of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 and Article 5, first paragraph, of Regulation (EU) 2020/852.

PAI stands for principal adverse sustainability impacts. The PAI statement covers the “inside-out” side of SFDR: how investment decisions harm the environment and society. That is distinct from the “outside-in” question of how sustainability risks affect the value of an investment. Our SFDR white paper covers the PAI statement in detail, including its key components, the division of SFDR indicators, key deliverables, qualitative data requirements, disclosure topics and data aggregation.

The RTS under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 set out the detailed disclosure rules that sit beneath SFDR and have applied since 1 January 2023. See our article on the SFDR Delegated Regulation for the indicators.

In November 2025, the European Commission published a legislative proposal to amend SFDR. It introduces a mandatory EU-wide product categorisation system, repeals the current Level 2 RTS and removes entity-level sustainability disclosures. The stated aims are to improve investor protection, reduce greenwashing and restore comparability across EU financial markets. For more, read SFDR 2025 reset and the SFDR regulation guide.

Download our free SFDR white paper, which covers the policy-making timeline, the scope and application of SFDR, the RTS and amendments, and the PAI statement. We only use your email to send the PDF. You can also visit the SFDR hub or watch the on-demand webinar “SFDR in practice: tackling PAI, articles 8 & 9 with Legance”.