The European Union (EU) and its Member States are committed to implement the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This review takes stock of the status of reporting on the achievement of the SDGs and sustainability at EU level and reporting by individual EU institutions and agencies.
Sustainability reporting is the practice of measuring, disclosing and being accountable to internal and external stakeholders for organisational performance towards the goal of sustainable development. It covers how an organisation considers sustainability issues in its operations, and on its environmental, social and economic impacts.
This review reveals that the Commission does not report on the contribution of the EU budget or EU policy to achieving the SDGs. One exception is the area of external action where the Commission has started to adapt its performance reporting system in relation
to SDGs and sustainability. The Commission has recently published a reflection paper where it describes selected Commission policies related to the SDGs. However, sustainability reporting is currently
not integrated into the Commission’s performance framework and the necessary pre-requisites for meaningful sustainability reporting, such as a longterm strategy, are largely not yet in place. At present, one EU institution, the European Investment Bank, and
one EU agency, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, publish sustainability reports.
This review is not an audit. It concerns emerging issues, establishes facts, and is based mainly on publicly available information and previous work.