EU maturity model set to replace Code of Conduct

The EU Taxonomy is a classification system that defines technical criteria to determine which economic activities qualify as being environmentally sustainable — including operating data centers. These criteria guide reporting under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and determine whether companies qualify for “green” financing.

The current taxonomy assessment criteria are based on 106 practices (out of 163) defined in the European Code of Conduct (EUCoC) for Data Centres. The European Commission is looking to revise the technical criteria for financial sustainability reporting starting in 2027, with public consultation due to open in early 2026. This report summarizes the recommendations made by the Commission’s Platform on Sustainable Finance as part of its review of the criteria (see Advancing sustainable finance: technical criteria for new activities & first review of the Climate Delegated Act, Activity 8.1 Data processing, hosting and related activities, page 122).