Environmental and social sustainability

This FRA Opinion on the draft simplified European Sustainability Reporting Standards informs the European Commission ahead of the standards’ adoption. This Opinion applies a risk-based human rights approach to assess whether the proposed simplifications preserve essential safeguards for people adversely affected by corporate activities. The Opinion provides practical, proportionate suggestions to strengthen the simplified framework and ensure that efficiency gains do not come at the expense of fundamental rights.

Making homes energy efficient and equipping them with clean energy can help the EU to reach its climate and energy goals. These measures improve living conditions and support fighting energy poverty, but they can also compromise affordability and displace low-income families. This report looks at housing renovation and clean energy installation programmes and wider EU climate and energy transition policies. It analyses their impact on fundamental rights. It finds that measures often inadvertently exclude people or risk exacerbating existing inequalities. Climate and social policies must comply with fundamental rights obligations. This report builds on FRA’s 2025 publication: Towards a fundamental rights-compliant European Green Deal.

This publication discusses how businesses can meet their human rights and environmental responsibilities. It focuses on key elements of mandatory human rights due diligence and presents reflections on principles from international law and EU law. The paper explains why risk-based human rights due diligence is needed and how it should be implemented. It also highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement, access to remedies, and oversight. It aims to inform EU policymakers and stakeholders about ways to effectively promote responsible business conduct and to ensure adequate protection of rightsholders.

Climate change affects the daily lives of everyone in the EU and has significant environmental, economic, social and health impacts. To tackle this, the European Green Deal was adopted in 2019. This report examines the Green Deal from a fundamental rights perspective, with the aim of protecting the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment for all. It highlights the lack of fundamental rights in EU climate policy and the need to incorporate these rights into future legislation. It also considers how applying a human-rights-based approach to climate policy could support a fair and inclusive transition.

Tackling greenwashing is an issue where human rights, consumer rights and climate goals align. Companies use greenwashing to convince people to buy products that are not always as environmentally friendly as they claim to be. They mislead consumers and harm the environment. This report shows how a human rights approach can combat greenwashing. It is based on consultations with experts in 10 Member States. The report identifies gaps in existing laws and enforcement. It includes case studies of consumers seeking remedies for misleading environmental claims.