Green taxonomy: calculating your aligned turnover

Quick answer. Calculating your taxonomy-aligned turnover means measuring the share of revenue from activities that are both eligible and aligned: an activity listed in the delegated acts, that contributes substantially to an environmental objective, respects the do-no-significant-harm principle (DNSH) and the minimum safeguards. Three ratios are computed: aligned turnover, CapEx and OpEx.

The EU green taxonomy classifies economic activities according to their contribution to the environmental transition. For a company, the exercise is to translate that classification into figures: what share of my activity is truly sustainable within the meaning of the regulation? The difficulty is not ideological, it is methodological. Confusing eligible and aligned, skipping the no-harm test or mis-defining the numerator completely distorts the result.

This guide explains how to calculate your aligned turnover, along with the CapEx and OpEx ratios, step by step. It also clarifies who is really concerned since the 2026 Omnibus directive, because the scope has changed sharply.

Two notions structure the whole taxonomy, and confusing them is the most common error.

An activity is eligible when it appears in the list of activities described by the taxonomy delegated acts. It is an entry condition: the activity is within scope, without prejudging its real performance.

An activity is aligned when it is eligible and meets, cumulatively, three conditions:

1. it contributes substantially to at least one of the six environmental objectives, respecting the technical screening criteria;
2. it causes no significant harm to the other objectives (DNSH principle, do no significant harm);
3. it respects the minimum safeguards on human rights and labour law.

An activity can therefore be eligible without being aligned. That is the case, for example, of a listed activity that does not clear the required technical performance threshold.

The six environmental objectives are climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, the sustainable use of water and marine resources, the transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention, and the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems.

Regulation (EU) 2020/852 and its delegated regulation (EU) 2021/2178 require the publication of three key indicators, each built as an aligned share over a total:

• the turnover ratio: share of revenue from products or services associated with aligned activities, over total turnover;
• the CapEx ratio: share of capital expenditure linked to aligned activities (or to a credible alignment plan), over total CapEx;
• the OpEx ratio: share of relevant operating expenditure linked to aligned activities, over total relevant OpEx.

The turnover ratio measures the sustainable share of activity achieved. The CapEx ratio anticipates the future trajectory, because it captures the investments made to green the activity. The OpEx ratio completes the picture on relevant running costs.

Here is the method to calculate your taxonomy-aligned turnover, without skipping a step.

1. Map the company's activities and identify those that are eligible under the delegated acts.
2. Test the substantial contribution of each eligible activity to an environmental objective, against the technical screening criteria.
3. Check the DNSH principle: the activity must not significantly harm the other objectives.
4. Control the minimum safeguards (human rights, labour law, anti-corruption).
5. Define the numerator: isolate the revenue from aligned activities only.
6. Divide by total turnover to obtain the aligned ratio, then repeat the logic for CapEx and OpEx.
7. Apply the materiality threshold and document every assumption, source and criterion used.

Take a simple worked example. A company has 12 million euros of turnover. After analysis, 3 million comes from an eligible and aligned activity, the rest from non-eligible activities. The aligned turnover ratio comes to 25 percent (3 million over 12 million). If part of that eligible activity fails the DNSH test, it stays eligible but leaves the aligned numerator: the aligned ratio falls mechanically, even though the eligible ratio remains higher.

The taxonomy is often experienced as an imposed reporting exercise. We see it first as a revealer: the aligned CapEx ratio, in particular, tells a story the turnover ratio does not yet tell. A company with a low aligned turnover but rising aligned CapEx is visibly preparing its transition. Conversely, a high aligned turnover with no investment reflects an acquired but static position.

Our recommendation is to focus first on data quality and the traceability of criteria. A ratio published without an audit trail, without justification of the DNSH test or the minimum safeguards, will not withstand serious scrutiny, whether from a statutory auditor, an investor or a client.

This is what changed the most. Directive (EU) 2026/470 of 24 February 2026, known as Omnibus, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 26 February 2026, raised the thresholds. Sustainability reporting, and the related taxonomy reporting, now applies only to companies exceeding 1,000 employees and 450 million euros of net turnover.

In practice, this sharply reduces the number of directly subject companies. Companies with more than 1,000 employees but below the 450 million euro threshold fall under a lighter or voluntary framework. The vast majority of SMEs are therefore not directly subject to taxonomy publication. Even so, the framework remains useful: it serves as a common language with banks, investors and large clients, who may request this information within their own value chain.

Omnibus also introduces a materiality threshold: an activity representing less than 10 percent of turnover, CapEx or OpEx can be exempt from detailed analysis, which simplifies the exercise for marginal activities. The directive must be transposed into national law by March 2027 at the latest, which may still change some of the terms.

The most common danger is not understating your alignment, it is overstating it in good faith. Counting as aligned a turnover that is merely eligible, without having run the DNSH test or checked the minimum safeguards, produces a flattering but false ratio. Once published, that ratio creates a reputational and legal risk: an investor or auditor who spots the gap will speak of greenwashing, even if unintentional.

The safeguard is a simple discipline: never slide from eligible to aligned without having cleared, and documented, the three steps (substantial contribution, DNSH, minimum safeguards).

• Eligible / aligned distinction: the aligned-ratio numerator only contains activities that passed the three tests.
• Omnibus thresholds: mandatory reporting above 1,000 employees and 450 million euros of turnover.
• Materiality threshold: possible exemption from analysis below 10 percent of turnover, CapEx or OpEx.
• Traceability: every criterion used (DNSH, safeguards) must be documented and auditable.
• Transposition expected: national terms will be clarified by March 2027.

To place this exercise within a structured CSR approach, see our guide on the green taxonomy and eligible activity for SMEs and our analysis of the ESRS E1 climate indicators.

• Activities mapped and eligible activities identified
• Substantial contribution tested for each eligible activity
• DNSH principle checked objective by objective
• Minimum safeguards controlled (human rights, labour)
• Aligned turnover numerator defined
• CapEx and OpEx ratios computed on the same logic
• Materiality threshold applied and assumptions documented