Goldman Sachs GS SUSTAIN Conducting alignment tests for the circular economy remains difficult - Currently available data from companies is often not sufficient to test companies’ alignment to the technical screening criteria today, leaving many companies as eligible, but requiring more information to assess full alignment. For example, food and beverage companies selling product in packaging made up of 95% recycled material can claim revenue as aligned (green) under the new criteria; however, very few companies report this information at a product level or only report figures on an aggregated basis with percentages significantly lower than the 95% threshold - Read Europe Future of Food: Digesting the EU Taxonomy. Currently we can only qualify companies as aligned where business models clearly meet the technical screening criteria as is, such as sale of second-hand goods or ‘recycling equipment manufacturers, ‘products as a service, etc. We note that the activities and criteria released for the Circular Economy should be viewed as provisional as they are not yet “nalised by the EU Commission and published in the Of“cial Journal. Exhibit 26: List of circular economy activities that meet the technical screening criteria as is and example of RBICS mapping to Taxonomy activities List of Taxonomy-defined economic activities under circular economy that can likely align directly to the technical screening criteria RBICS Revenue Segments Primary Taxonomy Circular Economy Activity Category Activity already meets technical screening without further tests? Recycling Services Sorting and material recovery of non-hazardous waste Y Other Waste Services Remediation activities for the transition to a circular economy Y Wastewater Treatment Services Phosphorus recovery from waste water Y Environmental Services Remediation activities for the transition to a circular economy Y Soil Remediation Remediation activities for the transition to a circular economy Y Wastewater Residual Management Phosphorus recovery from waste water Y Solid Waste Recycling Equipment Manufacturing Sorting and material recovery of non-hazardous waste Y Manufacturing Industry Software Product-as-a-service and other circular use- and result-oriented service models Y-With circular biz. model check Machinery, Equipment and Supplies Distributors Repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing, and sale of spare parts Y-With circular biz. model check Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul Supplies Distributors Repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing, and sale of spare parts Y-With circular biz. model check Metal Recycling Providers Sorting and material recovery of non-hazardous waste Y Other Metal Processing and Recycling Providers Sorting and material recovery of non-hazardous waste Y-With circular biz. model check Computer Aided Design (CAD) Software Product-as-a-service and other circular use- and result-oriented service models Y-With circular biz. model check Software Design and Engineering Consulting Product-as-a-service and other circular use- and result-oriented service models Y-With circular biz. model check Source: Platform for Sustainable Finance, Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research 3 May 2022 25