EU Taxonomy Applicability Test

Article 8 reporting applies to undertakings required to publish sustainability information under Articles 19a or 29a of Directive 2013/34/EU. For those undertakings, Article 8 requires information on how and to what extent activities are associated with environmentally sustainable economic activities. Confirm the current Accounting Directive scope for the reporting year instead of inferring Article 8 scope from company size, sector, or a prior-year filing.

Do not treat every company, asset, supplier, or project as an Article 8 reporter. Record the reporting entity, consolidation boundary, reporting year, whether the test is for a non-financial or financial undertaking, and which disclosure template or KPI family applies under the Disclosures Delegated Act as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/73. An outside-scope result means Article 8 does not require that entity's disclosure for the tested year; it does not turn a project into an aligned activity or remove separate SFDR, financing, contractual, or voluntary information requests.

Eligibility is an activity-mapping question. Under the Disclosures Delegated Act, a Taxonomy-eligible economic activity is one described in delegated acts adopted under the environmental-objective articles, whether or not it meets the technical screening criteria.

Alignment is a higher test. Under Article 3 of the Taxonomy Regulation, the activity must substantially contribute to at least one environmental objective, do no significant harm to the others, meet minimum safeguards, and comply with applicable technical screening criteria.

The alignment file should read like a chain of proof. For each activity, cite the delegated-act criteria used for substantial contribution, then record the DNSH checks for the other environmental objectives and the minimum-safeguards assessment.

DNSH is not a generic statement. Article 17 lists significant-harm concepts across climate mitigation, climate adaptation, water and marine resources, circular economy, pollution prevention and control, and biodiversity and ecosystems. Commission guidance on the Climate Delegated Act also warns that technical screening criteria can be reviewed and updated over time.

The applicability test should end in a reportable data decision, not only a legal memo. For non-financial undertakings, Article 8 and the Disclosures Delegated Act require the proportions of turnover, CapEx, and OpEx associated with environmentally sustainable activities, with the delegated templates and contextual information.

For financial undertakings, the KPI package depends on the undertaking type. Under the rules applying from 1 January 2026, derivatives, cash and cash equivalents, on-demand interbank loans, goodwill, commodities, and other asset categories not covered by Article 7(6) are excluded from KPI denominators. Exposures to undertakings outside Articles 19a and 29a are generally excluded too, subject to the rules for groups, special-purpose vehicles, voluntary KPI reporting, and known use of proceeds.

The applicability record should let a reviewer move from a published KPI or claim back to the legal source, activity classification, screening evidence, data extract, and approval decision. A statement that an activity is Taxonomy-aligned needs the full evidence chain; an eligibility statement does not prove alignment.

Keep advisory material labeled correctly. Commission notices can help interpret and implement the delegated acts, while Platform reports and Technical Expert Group materials are useful context but should not be presented as binding law.