The steering effect of the EU taxonomy: Evidence from German institutional and retail investors

Abstract

The EU taxonomy, introduced in 2022, is a comprehensive classification system categorizing environmentally sustainable economic activities. This study examines the impact of incorporating EU taxonomy data into corporate environmental disclosure on investor judgments. Through five experimental cases involving standard environmental disclosure and additional moderate/positive/negative taxonomy‐aligned information, we assessed institutional and retail investor evaluations. Results reveal that taxonomy inclusion significantly influences investor judgments, particularly among institutional investors who are more adept at recognizing and penalizing negative information. Clear taxonomy‐aligned data in combination with standard environmental information shows no steering effect among retail investors. Despite underperforming taxonomy indicators, environmental information generally conveys positive signals to retail investors.