Sustainability frameworks are easier to understand when you separate five jobs: company reporting, financial product disclosure, activity classification, carbon pricing and voluntary climate claims.
Quick answer
Use this map when you are trying to work out whether a term is about reporting, finance, classification, carbon markets or claims. The frameworks overlap in practice, but they do not all do the same job.
Data checked
This page was checked in June 2026. Sustainability reporting, sustainable finance disclosure, taxonomy rules, emissions trading systems and voluntary carbon market standards are changing quickly. Use the source links at the bottom of the page for the latest official documents.
Start with the decision in front of you
Reporting
What must a company disclose? Company reporting rules, due-diligence duties and standards for sustainability information.Finance disclosure
What does a fund or product claim? Rules for sustainable investment products, labels and greenwashing controls.Classification
Is the activity itself classified as sustainable? Taxonomy and green bond rules that test what the money finances.Compliance markets
Is there a mandatory carbon price? Cap-and-trade systems, aviation offsetting and border carbon rules.Claims
Can a company say this publicly? Integrity standards for carbon credits, removals and climate claims.The sustainability framework map
Corporate reporting
Company disclosure
These frameworks shape what companies disclose about sustainability, climate risk and impacts.
European Union
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) European Union company sustainability reporting law.Due diligence
Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) European Union human rights and environmental due-diligence law for very large companies and supply-chain risk evidence.Smaller companies
Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for SMEs (VSME) A proportionate voluntary reporting route for non-listed smaller companies facing customer, bank or investor sustainability data requests.Disclosure data
CDP environmental disclosure A disclosure platform and scoring system used by investors, companies and customers to request climate, forests, water and nature-related information.Impact reporting
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards Impact-reporting standards for explaining how an organisation affects the economy, environment and people.Carbon accounting
Greenhouse Gas Protocol The accounting standards behind many corporate Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions inventories.Global baseline
International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Investor-focused sustainability disclosure standards from the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation.Climate risk
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) The climate disclosure structure that still shapes governance, strategy, risk and metrics reporting.California
California climate disclosure laws SB 253 and SB 261 connect emissions disclosure, climate-related financial risk reporting and California Air Resources Board (CARB) implementation.Finance disclosure
Fund and product claims
These rules govern how investment products describe sustainability characteristics, labels and evidence.
European Union
Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) European Union disclosure rules for financial market participants and advisers.- Article 6
- Article 8
- Article 9
United Kingdom
Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) United Kingdom fund labels, disclosure requirements and anti-greenwashing rules.Fund names
ESMA fund naming rules European Union guidance on when environmental, social and governance (ESG) or sustainability-related fund names need portfolio evidence, thresholds and exclusions.Ratings layer
EU environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings regulation Supervision and transparency rules for environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating providers offering services in the European Union.Reader checks
Fund labels and greenwashing checks How to read factsheets, holdings, labels, fees and sustainability claims together.Activity classification
What counts as sustainable?
These frameworks test whether an activity or bond use of proceeds meets defined environmental criteria.
Classification
European Union Taxonomy A classification system for environmentally sustainable economic activities.- Technical screening criteria
- Do no significant harm (DNSH)
- Minimum safeguards
Green bonds
European Green Bond (EuGB) Standard A voluntary green bond label built around taxonomy alignment, factsheets, external review and reporting.Compliance markets
Mandatory carbon systems
These systems put a compliance cost on emissions or offsetting obligations in specific sectors and jurisdictions.
Europe
European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) The European Union cap-and-trade system for covered sectors.Buildings + transport
European Union Emissions Trading System 2 (EU ETS2) The separate European Union carbon market for buildings, road transport and additional sectors.Coordination
Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets The EU, Brazil and China initiative for carbon market integrity, accounting and compliance-market coordination.Global shipping
International Maritime Organization (IMO) Net-Zero Framework The proposed global shipping fuel standard and emissions pricing mechanism for large ocean-going ships.UK market
United Kingdom Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) The United Kingdom carbon market that replaced United Kingdom participation in the European Union system.Vehicle rules
United Kingdom zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate The annual sales-target system for zero-emission cars and vans. For the global market and oil-demand context, use Global EV Outlook 2026.Aviation
Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) The international aviation offsetting system managed through the International Civil Aviation Organization.Voluntary claims
Credit quality and public claims
These standards sit around voluntary carbon credits, removal quality and what companies can credibly say.
Credit quality
Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) The body behind Core Carbon Principles (CCP) labels for credit quality.Claims
Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) Guidance on how companies should use carbon credits in public climate claims.Claim hierarchy
Climate claims hierarchy How carbon neutral, net zero, climate contribution and carbon negative claims need different evidence.Removal and quality
Carbon removal and credit quality How removals, reductions, avoidance credits, durability and evidence differ.Nature markets
Biodiversity credits explained Why nature credits, biodiversity net gain and carbon-credit comparisons need different evidence.Quick route finder
If you are reading a company report
Start with reporting frameworks
Use the main company reporting guides first. These explain what the company is disclosing, what audience the disclosure serves and whether the topic is financial risk, impact or both.
If you are reading a fund factsheet
Start with finance disclosure
Use sustainable finance disclosure rules, fund labels, holdings and fees together. A label can help, but the holdings, index rules and stewardship evidence still matter.
If you are checking a green bond
Start with classification and use of proceeds
Use the EU Taxonomy, EuGB Standard, green bond framework, external review, allocation report and impact report. The label is only useful if the evidence chain is clear.
If you are assessing a climate claim
Start with claims and credit quality
Use the climate claims hierarchy, voluntary carbon market integrity guidance, Core Carbon Principles labels and carbon credit quality checks. The central question is not whether a credit exists. It is whether the evidence supports the wording being used.
Common confusion points
Reporting law vs standards
The law and the standards
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is the European Union reporting law. The European Sustainability Reporting Standards are the standards companies use to report under it. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) is different: it is about human rights and environmental due diligence for very large companies. The Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for non-listed small and medium-sized enterprises (VSME) is different again: a voluntary route for smaller companies outside direct scope that still receive sustainability data requests.
European Union disclosure vs United Kingdom labels
European Union disclosure and United Kingdom labels
The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation is a European Union sustainable finance disclosure regime. The Sustainability Disclosure Requirements regime is the United Kingdom sustainability disclosure and investment labelling system. The names sound similar, but they are not the same system.
Taxonomy vs green bond label
Classification and a bond label
The EU Taxonomy classifies sustainable economic activities. The EuGB Standard is a voluntary green bond label that uses taxonomy alignment as a core test.
Credit quality vs claims quality
Credit quality and claims quality
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market focuses on carbon credit quality through Core Carbon Principles labels. The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative focuses on how companies make claims when using carbon credits. The climate claims hierarchy sits one step earlier: it asks which claim the evidence can support in the first place.
Where to go next
If the map gives you the structure, the detailed guides explain the working parts. Use these routes instead of treating every acronym as part of the same problem.