SUMMARY
Last week, FESI attended a stakeholder dialogue with Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque on the EU Taxonomy, which gathered around 40 participants under Chatham House Rule. The aim was to discuss the effectiveness of the Taxonomy framework and its potential extension to other sectors.

MORE DETAILS

FESI opened its intervention by expressing full support for the Commission’s efforts to simplify the EU Taxonomy through the Omnibus reviews and delegated acts. However, we highlighted the disconnect between the current framework and the sporting goods sector,  where taxonomy-eligible activities remain close to zero after four years of reporting.

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Key points raised by FESI (full speech attached):

• The framework is often misaligned with global business realities.
• DNSH criteria are too complex and frequently beyond a company’s direct control
• We proposed simplifying DNSH by:

• Focusing on what companies can influence (e.g. chemicals, water, energy, waste).
• Recognising credible certifications (e.g. OEKO-TEX, GOTS, ISO 14001).
• Introducing tiered criteria for different transition stages.
• Providing templates/checklists, especially for SMEs.

FESI welcomed the idea of expanding the Taxonomy to include textiles and sporting goods, but no decision has been made by the Commission at this stage. We stressed that any future inclusion must involve structured dialogue with industry and be grounded in practical tools and data.

Finally, we emphasised our sector’s contribution to the circular economy, a shared priority in the discussion, and called for these efforts to be better reflected in the framework. The Commissioner noted the challenge of balancing circularity with competitiveness, particularly for SMEs and rapidly evolving industries.

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NEXT STEPS

FESI will remain actively engaged in future dialogues with decision-makers to ensure that the future Taxonomy framework is both relevant and practical for the sporting goods industry.

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