Background:  The introduction of the EU-taxonomy for sustainable activities in 2020 aims to create a shift in investments to foster sustainable growth. It classifies an organisation as “green” or not based on a predetermined set of categories and criteria. However, not all organisations are included. Small to medium enterprises are not included, and do not need to report on their activities. However, there exist SMEs which decided to still, to the extent possible, voluntarily comply with the EU-taxonomy. This form of voluntary compliance has not been explored in the prior literature.    Purpose:  The purpose of this study is to investigate the “Why” and the “How” of SMEs voluntarily compliance with the EU-taxonomy sustainability regulation.   Method:  In order to fulfil the purpose an interpretive qualitative approach has been adopted in this study. A comparative case study is used to develop an understanding of the individual cases but also their comparative aspects through a cross analysis. The information from the cases was collected through semi-structured interviews as well as from secondary data such as annual reports.    Conclusion:  This study concludes that while there are a multitude of reasons why an SME voluntarily complies to the EU-taxonomy, such as reputation and environment. “How” an organisation voluntarily complies is highly dependent on the industry and resources of an organisation.

Background: The trend in environmental reporting has been continuously increasing. However, there is a lack of accepted uniform standards for accreditation, standardization, and evaluation of green investments, which slows down the process of mobilizing capital to meet sustainability objectives. In response to this, the European Union has created, in summer 2019, a new Taxonomy Regulation in an effort to increase green investing.  Purpose: Skepticism towards green organizations is on the rise and the phenomenon, namely greenwashing, can be argued to be one of the biggest threats to sustainable development. Previous research on greenwashing has so far only looked at the effects it has on consumers. This study identifies this research gap and alternatively investigates the perspective of the investors on greenwashing. Prior to the EU Taxonomy, there were limited regulations in place to ensure a universal measurement of sustainable actions that were mandatory. This raises the question of whether the EU Taxonomy truly has the potential to reduce greenwashing or not. A descriptive investigation of the current literature on problems of greenwashing within the financial sector can seek to identify the critical themes concerning the EU Taxonomy. Construct a framework on which the EU Taxonomy may be most effective in reducing the types of greenwashing.  Research Question: What is the potential of the new EU Taxonomy to increase transparency within the sustainable financial sector that is threatened by greenwashing? Method: Qualitative study; exploratory case study approach; the paradigm of interpretivism as our research philosophy; interviews based on the inductive approach, semi-structured interviews with a mix of open- and close-ended questions; purposive sampling method; triangulation data analysis with findings visualized in a tree diagram. Conclusion: A framework is presented that identifies the high/moderate/low potentials of the EU Taxonomy decreasing greenwashing in the financial sector. Our findings conclude that the EU Taxonomy showed great potential in giving a more comprehensive understanding of the company’s sustainable actions. The development of our findings contributes to a better current understanding of the threats of greenwashing for investors and can help to increase their confidence in sustainable investing.

Hållbarhet är ett område som fått stort fokus i samhället och samhällets aktörer är idag mer medvetna om hållbarhetens problematik och dess konsekvenser. Banksektorn har en viktig roll för den hållbara utvecklingen och därför är det av stor vikt att bankerna tar hänsyn till hållbarhet för att medverka till att företag bedriver en hållbar verksamhet. Vid kreditgivning har banken olika bedömningsfaktorer som de beaktar för att avgöra om en kredit till företag ska beviljas eller inte. Genom att integrera hållbarhetsaspekter i bankens bedömningsfaktorer vid kreditgivning till stora företag kan det påskynda processen att uppnå parisavtalet och Agenda 2030. EU taxonomin har även utvecklats för att visa vilka företag som bedriver en hållbar verksamhet vilket sätter större press på företag att uppvisa hur de arbetar med hållbarhet i sin hållbarhetsredovisning.  Syftet med studien är att studera svenska storbankers upplevda påverkan av hållbarhetsaspekter vid kreditgivning till stora företag samt undersöka om, den nyligen införda, EU taxonomin haft betydelse. Syftet besvaras genom att utreda följande fråga: Hur upplever svenska storbanker att hållbarhetsaspekter påverkar kreditgivningen till stora företag och har EU taxonomin haft betydelse? För att svara på studiens problemformulering har en kvalitativ metod tillämpats. Insamling av det empiriska materialet gjordes genom åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer, respondenterna är två kreditgivare till företag från fyra av de svenska storbankerna.  Hållbarhetsaspekterna har endast påverkan på kreditgivnings villkoren till företag hos två av de fyra storbankerna. Detta med anledning av att övriga banker kräver kvantitativa bevis för hållbarhetsarbetet, vilket många företag inte kan uppvisa och till följd inte få exempelvis lägre ränta.  Informationsasymmetrin minskas endast med hjälp av förtroende mellan bank och företag, hållbarhetsaspekterna har därför inte minskat informationsasymmetrin. Bankerna vill inte bevilja kredit till företag som inte är hållbara med anledning av att det i sin tur förstör bankens legitimitet mot samhället. Bankerna har behörighet att neka kredit till följd av att företaget som söker kredit brister på någon av hållbarhetsaspekterna, det hör dock till ovanligheten att det faktiskt sker. Greenwashing är bankerna medvetna om men menar på att det inte är något de kan kontrollera. EU taxonomin har bidragit till både ökad information och tydligare struktur vilket i sin tur ökat transparensen mellan företag och bank vid kreditgivningen. / Sustainability is an area that has received a big focus in society and society´s actors are today more aware of the problems of sustainability and its consequences. The banking sector has an important role to play in sustainable development and therefore it is important that the bank takes sustainability into account in order to contribute to companies operating a sustainable business. When lending, the bank has various assessment factors that they consider in deciding whether a credit to a company should be granted or not. By integrating sustainability aspects into the bank's assessment factors when lending to large companies, it can speed up the process of achieving the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030. The EU taxonomy has also been developed to show which companies run a sustainable business, which puts greater pressure on companies to demonstrate how they work with sustainability in their sustainability report.  The purpose of the study is to study major Swedish banks' perceived impact on sustainability aspects when lending to large companies and investigate whether the recently introduced EU taxonomy is important. The purpose is answered by investigating the following question: How do major Swedish banks experience that sustainability aspects affect the lending of large companies and has the EU taxonomy been significant? To answer the purpose of the study, a qualitative method has been applied. The data has been gathered through eight semi- structured interviews, the respondents are two lenders to large companies from four of the major Swedish banks.  The sustainability aspects have only been affected by the terms of lending to companies at two out of the four major banks. This is due to the fact that the two other banks require quantitative proof of the sustainability work, which many companies cannot exhibit and as a result do not receive lower bank interest rates. The information asymmetry is only reduced with the help of trust between banks and companies, the sustainability aspects have therefore not reduced the information asymmetry. The banks don't want to lend to companies that are not sustainable because it in turn will destroy the bank's legitimacy against society. The big banks have the authority to refuse credit if the company applying for credit lacks in any of the sustainability aspects, however, it is unusual for this to happen. The banks are aware of greenwashing but mean that it's not something the big banks can control. The EU taxonomy has contributed to both increased information and a clearer structure, which in turn increases transparency between companies and banks when lending.

During the past years sustainability within the Swedish real estate financing market has experienced remarkable growth. Continued progress is predicted as new EU regulations, the EU Taxonomy, will be implemented. The objective of establishing a unanimous green classification system is needed to direct investments towards environmentally sustainable projects. The real estate sector’s vital role of mitigating and adapting to a sustainable development induces us to study the structure of the green financing market within the real estate sector, and the implications that the expected development will have for the involved parties. This thesis examines annual reports from the ten largest listed real estate companies in Sweden and interviews key participants that possess roles within the green real estate financing market with the aim of uncovering incentives for Swedish real estate companies to issue green debt, and to provide inputs on how green financing can develop in the future.  Corporate behavioural and corporate finance theories such as the concept of corporate social responsibility, stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and pecking order theory have been used to analyse the empirical findings. It can be concluded that incentives to be active in the green real estate financing market can be explained by financial factors as the most prominent reason but also the will of legitimising a company’s business practises. It can be concluded that there is no consensus regarding what is considered to be green today on a company level, but further developments of the EU Taxonomy are promising. Finally, stakeholders believe that the green aspect of real estate will over time become the new norm and gradually be replaced by the notion of a brown aspect deviating from the new norm. / Under de senaste åren har hållbarhet inom den svenska fastighetsfinansieringssektorn haft en anmärkningsvärd tillväxt. Fortsatta framsteg förutspås när nya EU-regler, EU Taxonomin, kommer att implementeras. Målet att upprätta ett enhälligt grönt klassificeringssystem behövs för att rikta investeringar mot miljömässigt hållbara projekt. Fastighetssektorns avgörande roll att begränsa och anpassa sig till en hållbar utveckling föranleder oss att studera strukturen på den gröna finansieringsmarknaden inom fastighetssektorn, och vilka konsekvenser den förväntade utvecklingen kommer att få för de inblandade parterna.  Det här examensarbetet undersöker årsredovisningar från de tio största börsnoterade fastighetsbolagen i Sverige samt intervjuar nyckelpersoner som besitter positioner inom den grönafastighetsfinansieringssektorn. Syftet är att utröna vilka incitament svenska fastighetsbolag har för att emittera gröna obligationer och att bidra med synpunkter om hur den hållbara utvecklingen inom fastighetssektorn kan utvecklas i framtiden. Teorier om företagsbeteende och företagsfinansiering så som konceptet om företags samhällsansvar, intressentteori, legitimitetsteori och hackordningteori har använts för att analysera de empiriska resultaten. Man kan dra slutsatsen att incitamenten att vara aktiv på den gröna fastighetsfinansieringsmarknaden kan förklaras av finansiella faktorer som mest framträdande orsaken men också av viljan att legitimera ett företags affärsutövande. Man kan också dra slutsatsen att det inte finns någon konsensus om vad som anses vara grönt idag på företagsnivå, men vidareutvecklingen av EU-Taxonomin är lovande. Slutligen tror intressenter att den gröna aspekten av fastigheter med tiden kommer att bli den nya normen och gradvis ersättas av föreställningen om en brun aspekt som avviker från den nya normen.

Title: EU-Taxonomy, beneficial or detrimental: the Taxonomy impact among Swedish forest industries. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to create a better understanding and describe how the EU-taxonomy may affect the Swedish forest industry sustainability report. The purpose is to also to examinate how the industry prepares and handles the implementation of the new EU regulation. In this thesis we also describe how the taxonomy may affect companies’ legitimacy and their relationship between different internal and external stakeholders to the company. Methodology: The methodology is based on qualitative research to gather data. The data consists of interviews with representatives for selected companies within the forest industry. Purpose sampling was used in order to select the respondents. The interviews have then been analyzed thru a qualitative content analysis. Findings: Overall the EU-taxonomy was received with positivity. The respondents confirmed the need of a classification system for sustainability development. Which is the intention of the regulation. The outcome of the taxonomy correlates to how external stakeholders, such as the financial institution and banks, interpreters and acts regarding the new EU-regulation. The impact the regulation will have on the relationship with stakeholders and companies’ legitimacy is still early to answer but it may have an effect due to its new standard for what is considers sustainable. The regulation has given companies an increased administrative burden, partly due to the ambiguity of what is to be reported in the regulation, but also its richness of detail. How the regulation will affect companies’ sustainability report is still early to answer. Many of the companies believe it won ́t have a major effect and will be a separate report on their websites. All companies report that the regulation does not consider the benefits of the products of wood materials, nor the entire value chain in the forest industry, which can lead to political greenwashing.

I ett försök att motarbeta ökningen i den globala genomsnittstemperaturen och klimatkri- sen jorden står inför har Förenta Nationerna (FN) under slutet av 2015 kommit fram till Parisavtalet. Parisavtalet trädde i kraft under 2016 och slår fast att den globala genomsnitts- temperaturökningen måste ligga väl under 2 °C, och att världen ska sträva efter att ligga under 1,5 °C i genomsnitts-temperaturökning innan år 2050. I ett försök att uppnå Parisav- talet till 2050 har EU tagit fram en ny taxonomi som ska implementeras på alla verksamheter i EU som faller in inom vissa kriterier som de har fastställt. Taxonomin ska tillämpas på nio olika branscher i första steget och göra det enklare för investerare att styra sitt kapital mot verksamheter, som enligt EU anses hållbara.  I denna uppsats ska vi undersöka olika aktörers åsikter om dem anser att EU-Taxonomin är hållbar för skogbruks- och fastighetsbranschen, ur ett miljöperspektiv. Detta ska göras ge- nom att analysera utlåtanden och intervjua människor i ledande positioner inom skogsbruk- och fastighetsbranschen. Intervjufrågorna är formade på ett sådant sätt att svaren kan an- vändas för att analysera EU-Taxonomins påverkan ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv. Resultaten visade att svenska aktörer uttrycker ett stort oro till EU-Taxonomins utformning, främst inom skogsbranschen. Ändringar i EU-Taxonomins utformning behöver göras för att im- plementeringen ger en positiv effekt så taxonomins syfte med att nå Parisavtalet till 2050 uppnås. Uppsatsen inom skogsbruket kom fram till att det är skiftade fokus mellan aktörer- na på hållbarhetsarbetet, men i slutändan är alla aktörer vi undersökt i branschen enig om att EU-Taxonomin är inte utformad på ett hållbart sätt. Inom fastighet anser aktörerna att EU-Taxonomin är felanpassad då den fokuserar för mycket på energiprestanda och lämnar stora delar av vad hållbarhet innebär för dem utanför EU-Taxonomin. / In an attempt to try and prevent the rises in global average temperature and climate crisis, the United Nations (UN) reached a global agreement at the end of 2015 called the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement took effect in 2016 and states that the global average temperature increase must be well below 2 °C, and that the world must strive to be below 1.5 °C in average global temperature increase before 2050. In an effort to try and reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, the European Union (EU) have developed a taxonomy to implement on all businesses in the EU that are included in a certain criteria determined by the EU. The Taxonomy will be implemented on businesses in nine different industries in its first phase and will make it easier for investors to allocate their equity into businesses that the EU recognises as sustainable.  In this essay, we will evaluate different types of stakeholders’ opinions on whether the EU- Taxonomy is sustainable for the forestry- and real estate industry from an environmental perspective. This is done by analysing open statements and interviewing different people representing the different leading stakeholders in their respective Swedish branches. The questions for the interviews are formulated so that the responses can be used to analyse the EU-Taxonomy’s effect from a sustainability perspective. The results show that Swedish stakeholders, mostly in the forestry sector, are concerned about the EU-Taxonomy’s criteria in defining what a sustainable activity is. Changes in the EU-Taxonomy will have to be made so that the implementation of the taxonomy has a positive effect in the work made to achieve the Paris Agreement by 2050. The essay, in the forestry sector, came to the conclusion that the stakeholders have different takes on what sustainability work is, but they all agree that the EU-Taxonomy is not a sustainable guideline for the sector. In real- estate, the stakeholders agree that the EU-Taxonomy is maladapted. The EU-Taxonomy focuses mostly on use of energy for buildings and leaves other major sustainability factors surrounding real estate out.

In 2016, the European commission started an investigation with the intention of finding a strategy on how to direct capital towards sustainable investments. This investigation resulted in a framework that contributed with guidelines and key recommendations to different actors within the financial system. These guidelines and recommendations were then followed by a direct action-plan, in which it was emphasized that a harmonized and clear definition of sustainability was necessary to sufficiently apply these propositions on EU basis. Thus, the proposal of the EU Taxonomy (European Commission, 2018b). The new institutional regulation has created certain concerns within the construction and real estate sector, where actors indicate that some or several of the economic activities within the sector might face certain challenges in becoming Taxonomy aligned. As the EU Taxonomy has recently been disclosed, there is still little existing research associated with the new regulation and its potential impact on actors within the market. This study therefore aims to contribute to this research gap by studying the potential challenges companies within the construction- and real estate sector, namely residential developing companies, are facing when the EU Taxonomy enters legislation. This study has been conducted in accordance with a qualitative method, using semi-structured interviews to collect data. Targeted participants in the study have been industry employees within the positions of development managers, sustainable managers, and financial managers, or similar, this to get a grasp of the three important perspectives that relates to the implementation of the EU Taxonomy: the technical-, organizational- and economic perspective.Based on the result of this study there are some identified factors that may cause certain challenges for the residential developer when practically implementing the technical screening criteria outlined in the EU Taxonomy. These factors are associated with residential developers' previous experience of certain sustainable measures, the complex nature of implementing sustainable measures in construction projects and the formation of the EU Taxonomy itself. The challenges facing the residential developer is therefore derived to be both the challenge of understanding the criteria outlined in the new regulation, just as well as realizing these criteriain practice. / År 2016 inledde Europeiska kommissionen en utredning med avsikt att hitta en strategi för hur man riktar kapital mot hållbara investeringar. Undersökningen resulterade i ett ramverk som bidrog med riktlinjer och viktiga rekommendationer till olika aktörer inom det finansiella systemet. Dessa riktlinjer och rekommendationer följdes därefter av en direkt handlingsplan, där det betonades att en harmoniserad och tydlig definition av hållbarhet var nödvändig för att i tillräcklig utsträckning tillämpa dessa förslag på EU basis. Från detta växte förslaget till EU:s nya Taxonomi fram (Europeiska kommissionen, 2018b). Den nya institutionella förordningen har skapat viss oro inom fastighetsbranschen, där aktörer indikerar att flera av de ekonomiska aktiviteterna inom sektorn kan möta viss utmaning vidimplementeringen av de presenterade kriterierna. Eftersom EU:s Taxonomi nyligen har framtagits finns det fortfarande lite existerande forskning relaterat till förordningen samt dess potentiella inverkan på marknadens aktörer. Denna studie syftar därför till att bidra till ökad förståelse för EU:s nya Taxonomi, detta genom att studera potentiella utmaningar som företag inom fastighetsbranschen, närmare bestämt bostadsutvecklingsföretag, står inför när EU:s nyaTaxonomi träder i kraft. Studien genomfördes enligt en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Deltagare i studien har varit utvecklingschefer, hållbarhetschefer och ekonomichefer, eller anställda med liknande positioner inom fastighetsbranschen. Urvalen syftar till att få en förståelse för de tre viktiga perspektiven som rör implementeringen av EU:s nya Taxonomi nämligen det tekniska, organisatoriska- och ekonomiska perspektivet. Resultatet av denna studie visar på ett flertal faktorer som kan orsaka utmaningar för bostadsutvecklaren vid implementeringen av EU:s nya Taxonomi. Dessa faktorer relaterar bland annat till bostadsutvecklares tidigare kunskap och erfarenhet av olika hållbarhetsåtgärder, bostadsutvecklingsprojekts komplexa natur samt utformningen av Taxonomin. De utmaningar som bostadsutvecklaren står inför är således både utmaningen att förstå de kriterier som anges i den nya förordningen, liksom att realisera dessa kriterier i praktiken.

Klimatförändringar är en global utmaning som orsakar bland annat höjda havsnivåer och extremväder, främst drivet av växthusgaser från fossila bränslen. Bygg- och fastighetssektorn i Sverige stod för 22% av landets totala växthusgasutsläpp 2021. EU:s Parisavtal och FN:s agenda 2030 syftar till att begränsa klimatpåverkan genom hållbara investeringar. Taxonomin är en av de åtgärder som EU har i sin handlingsplan för finansiering av hållbar tillväxt och antogs av kommissionen 2018. CSRD, som infördes 2023, stärker hållbarhetsrapporteringen för olika företag som måste följa ESRS-standarder. Syftet med arbetet är att utreda hur fastighetsbolag verksamma i Sverige tillämpar det institutionella ramverket gällande EU:s Taxonomi i dagsläget och på lång sikt.  Metoden bestod av kvalitativa intervjuer som genomförts med tre fastighetsbolag och en intervju med en expert inom ämnet. Vi har även genomfört en informationsinsamling med tidigare arbeten och institutionell teori. Uppsatsen visar att fastighetsbolag inte är tillräckligt förberedda för EU:s taxonomi och kämpar med att implementera de nya kraven i tid. Fastighetsbolag i Sverige förbereder sig för EU:s taxonomi och ESRS genom strategiska åtgärder som att analysera klimatrelaterade risker, genomföra energirenoveringar och certifiera byggnader. De möter utmaningar med nya rapporteringskrav och höga initiala kostnader, men långsiktiga strategier syftar till att integrera hållbarhetsaspekter. Trots dessa utmaningar visar uppsatsen att fastighetsbolagen strävar efter att anpassa sig och integrera hållbarhetsaspekter för att säkerställa och uppfylla EU:s hållbarhetskrav. / Climate change is a global challenge that causes rising sea levels and extreme weather, primarily driven by greenhouse gases from fossil fuels. In 2021, the building and real estate sector in Sweden accounted for 22% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The EU's Paris Agreement and the UN's Agenda 2030 aim to limit climate impact through sustainable investments. The taxonomy is one of the measures in the EU's action plan for financing sustainable growth and was adopted by the Commission in 2018. The CSRD, introduced in 2023, strengthens sustainability reporting for various companies, which must comply with ESRS standards. The purpose of this work is to investigate how real estate companies operating in Sweden currently and in the long term apply the institutional framework concerning the EU taxonomy.  The methodology to examine this involved qualitative interviews conducted with three real estate companies and an interview with an expert in the field. We also conducted an information gathering from previous works and institutional theory. The thesis shows that real estate companies are not sufficiently prepared for the EU taxonomy and struggle to implement the new requirements on time. Real estate companies in Sweden are preparing for the EU taxonomy and ESRS through strategic measures such as analyzing climate-related risks, performing energy renovations, and certifying buildings. They face challenges with new reporting requirements and high initial costs, but long-term strategies aim to integrate sustainability aspects. Despite these challenges, the thesis shows that real estate companies strive to adapt and integrate sustainability aspects to meet and fulfill the EU's sustainability requirements.

Energideklarationen togs fram i syfte att minska energibehovet i byggnader, där varje byggnad får ett betyg A-G beroende på dess energiprestanda. Men ger denna klassificering egentligen någon effekt på värdet av fastigheten? Följande rapport ger en överblick av värdepåverkande faktorer som en energideklaration innebär vid värdering av kommersiella fastigheter. Studien är kvalitativ bestående av litteratur- och intervjustudier och berör främst kommersiella fastigheter i Stockholms innerstad. Stockholms innerstad består av en marknad med hög efterfrågan och attraktivitet och därmed även höga priser på alla typer av fastigheter. I en fastighetsvärdering ingår många olika faktorer och fastighetsbranschen väntar en tid av förändringar i och med EU:s taxonomi och övriga direktiv beträffande fastigheters energiprestanda.  I denna studie intervjuas fastighetsvärderare, hållbarhetsansvariga, mäklare och en bankperson om energideklarationens betydelse i en värdering samt vid affärer inom svenska fastighetssektorn. Studien kompletteras med analys av EU-taxonomin som medför nya miljökrav på byggnaders hållbarhet, och hur svenska företag förhåller sig till denna. Taxonomin innebär handlingsplaner med uppsatta mål för olika länder och i Sverige innebär den bland annat att de byggnader med energiklass A eller topp 15% av befintligt fastighetsbestånd går att linjera med taxonomin.   Resultatet visar att betyget i deklarationen är en värdepåverkande faktor, men om det beror av betyget i sig eller vad betyget innebär är svårt att avgöra. Med krav som inte tillåter uthyrning eller ger vite för fastigheter med låga energiklasser kan incitamenten öka för att förbättra energiklassen. Det kan också ge skäl för att redovisa fastigheten som en grön investering enligt EU-taxonomin. Energideklarationen tas mer eller mindre hänsyn till i olika sammanhang, men är mycket aktuell och väntas få större betydelse inom kommande år i ljuset av taxonomin och andra direktiv i Europa där kraven uttrycks i mått av byggnaders energiprestanda. Ämnet är mycket aktuell, men inte så utforskat.  Framöver väntas nya direktiv från Boverket samt uppdaterade internationella ramverk gällande energideklarationen, vilka kommer att påverka fastighetsbolag, beslutsfattare, fastighetsägare och värderare. / The energy performance certificate (EPC) was developed to reduce the energy consumption in buildings, where each building receives a rating from A to G based on its energy performance. However, does this classification impact the value of the property? The following report provides an overview of the factors that influence the valuation of commercial properties. The study is qualitative, consisting of literature reviews and interviews, and is primarily based on commercial properties in central Stockholm. Central Stockholm consists of a market with high demand and attractiveness, with high prices for all types of properties. A property valuation includes many different factors, and a time of change is expected for the real estate market, due to the EU taxonomy and other directives regarding the energy performance of buildings. In this study, real estate valuers, sustainability managers, real estate agents and banks are interviewed about the significance of the energy performance certificate in a valuation and in transactions with the Swedish real estate market. The study is complemented by an analysis of the new EU taxonomy, which brings new environmental requirements for sustainability in real estate, and how Swedish companies relate to this. The taxonomy involves action plans with set goals for different countries. In Sweden, this means that the buildings with EPC-rating A or the top 15% of the existing property portfolio can reach the goals of the taxonomy.  The result shows that the rating in the energy performance certificate affects the value, but whether this is due to the rating itself or what the grade implies is difficult to determine. With requirements that prohibit renting or impose fines for properties with low energy classes, incentives may increase to improve the energy class. It may also provide incentives for reporting the property as a green investment according to the EU taxonomy. How the energy performance is considered varies in different contexts. However, this is a very topical subject, and it is expected to become more significant considering the taxonomy and other directives in Europe due to the requirements being expressed in the energy performance of the building. In the future we are expecting The National Board of Housing, Boverket, to decide about directives. Additionally, we are awaiting updated international frameworks for the energy performance certificate, that will affect decision-makers, property owners and valuers.

To redirect capital flows towards sustainable investments, the European Union (EU) has implemented the EU Taxonomy, a classification system with definitions for sustainable economic activities. The Taxonomy constitutes a part of the European Green Deal, which is an initiative to transition the EU towards sustainability and competitiveness. The EU Taxonomy is intended to be used by investors when assessing companies to identify sustainable investment opportunities. Investors have great significance in what impacts the EU Taxonomy will have since the regulation relies on investors using it as a tool when assessing whether to invest in a company or not. Additionally, many companies rely on investors for financial support, and it is therefore essential for companies to have information about to what degree investors will integrate the EU Taxonomy in their investment decisions. There is an information gap between companies and investors where companies lack knowledge about how investors will use the Taxonomy to select which companies to invest in.   The aim of the study is to investigate how the EU Taxonomy is affecting investment decisions of Nordic investment firms and institutional investors. Furthermore, the aim is to examine in what ways the EU Taxonomy will shape the future of sustainable investments and how companies utilize the EU Taxonomy to enhance their attractiveness to investors. A qualitative approach has been used in the thesis, and data constituting the results was collected through 12 semi-structured interviews with investors. In conclusion, all interviewed investors have an interest in promoting sustainable investments. The EU Taxonomy has, moreover, been positively received by investors since many of them have been requesting a tool to define sustainable economic activities. 11 of 12 investors in the study, use the EU Taxonomy when evaluating companies to make investment decisions. However, investors are currently evaluating a variety of factors when assessing companies, such as additional ESG performance indicators. Further, investors consider that the Taxonomy cannot exclusively be used when analyzing companies since it is a narrow tool, excluding multiple economic activities and sectors. A high Taxonomy alignment will be a considerable factor for some investors as they believe that companies with high alignment will be more successful. Other investors will continue to invest in companies with low alignment because these companies have potential to become more sustainable over time. All investors are, however, united in that the most important thing is that companies have an ambition to reach a higher alignment. Further, investors have varying approaches when it comes to prioritizing the environmental objectives when assessing companies' sustainability performance. Some investors value how many and which environmental objectives a company contributes to depending on the company´s operations, while others have not yet considered it. The EU Taxonomy´s significance in the future for sustainable investments will depend on different factors, for example the reporting of alignment. Provided that investors integrate the Taxonomy in their decision making, the framework will likely increase the share of investments which take sustainability aspects into account. However, since the EU Taxonomy only covers companies in the EU and exclude sectors, it is questionable how great significance the regulation will have for sustainable investments on a global scale. Lastly, there are several opportunities for companies to become more attractive to investors by working strategically with the EU Taxonomy and communicate ambitions to reach a higher alignment. The results highlight the importance of companies adapting their business model to the Taxonomy and establishing long-term plans for how to reach a higher share of alignment. Companies can, moreover, improve their attractiveness to investors by improving their Taxonomy data collection and presenting the data in an easily accessible way.