Sustainability disclosure regulations in the EU: an enabling factor for impact investors?

Purpose This paper aims to examine impact investors’ perceptions of the sustainable finance disclosure regulation (SFDR) and evaluates how effectively it helps impact-generating investors in achieving positive social and environmental impacts and broader sustainable transformations. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct an exploratory qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with impact investment professionals. The data were analysed using a structured, interpretive approach to identify patterns in how practitioners interpret and implement the SFDR in their day-to-day work. Findings The findings reveal a regulatory-practice misalignment between the objectives of the SFDR and impact investors’ goals of generating positive real-world changes. Despite improving comparability and transparency, the reporting burden, ambiguous product categorizations and ineffective metrics are identified as key concerns of the SFDR. Impact investors propose the adoption of clear labels, increased flexibility in disclosure requirements and a stronger focus on impact-generating criteria to mitigate these drawbacks. Practical implications The findings provide policy recommendations to European legislators and policymakers on refining the SFDR to better align with the needs, goals and practices of impact investors. Social implications Impact investors offer financial products with strong potential to generate social and environmental change. Aligning the SFDR with impact-generating practices ensures that the regulation effectively supports such investments. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to provide a practitioner-focused analysis of how impact investors interpret and operationalize the SFDR. It contributes to sustainable finance regulation research by conceptualizing the misalignment between regulatory design and impact investing practices as regulatory-practice misalignment.