GRC Report Staff

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is opening the door for UK stakeholders to shape the future of sustainability assurance. In a recent move to bring the UK into closer alignment with global practices, the FRC has launched a consultation on a proposed version of the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000. The consultation aims to gather feedback on the introduction of ISSA (UK) 5000, a voluntary framework designed to bring consistency and transparency to sustainability assurance in the UK market.

Three of the UK's largest gas distribution operators (Cadent Gas Limited, Scotland Gas Networks, and Southern Gas Networks) are collectively paying £8 million into Ofgem's Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Fund after failing to meet essential safety targets for responding to gas emergencies. The penalty follows an investigation into missed response times that could have put public safety at risk.

The European Commission has fined Delivery Hero and Glovo a total of €329 million for their involvement in a cartel that spanned four years across the European Economic Area (EEA). The companies admitted to engaging in anti-competitive behavior that not only limited market competition but also restricted employee opportunities, something that’s never been sanctioned before in EU antitrust history.

On May 15, 2025, the Eight Chairs, a group representing the national corporate governance committees of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, gathered to discuss the evolving landscape of corporate governance across Europe. Their goal was clear: to reinforce the importance of sound governance as a foundation for long-term value creation, particularly during these challenging economic and geopolitical times.

Salesforce has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Informatica, a cloud-based data management company, for approximately $8 billion in equity value. This transaction, which is expected to close by early fiscal year 2027, will see Salesforce pay $25 per share in cash to Informatica’s Class A and Class B-1 common stockholders.

A recent survey conducted by #WeAreEurope, in partnership with HEC Paris, reveals that most companies across Europe are not in favor of the European Commission’s “Omnibus” initiative, which proposes reducing the scope of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). While a majority of businesses express satisfaction with the CSRD in its current form, they have reservations about the Omnibus proposals, which aim to ease the regulatory burden on companies.

Thames Water has been slapped with a record-breaking fine of £122.7 million after two separate investigations revealed serious breaches of regulations. The penalty, the largest ever imposed by Ofwat, includes a £104.5 million fine for failures related to its wastewater operations, alongside an £18.2 million fine stemming from improper dividend payments. The fines will be paid by Thames Water and its shareholders, not by customers, marking a significant step in holding the water utility accountable for its mismanagement.