ESG Today

JUNE 5, 2024

Increased supervisory actions and better access to data and other resources will be required to address growing greenwashing risks at banks, investment firms and insurance companies, according to new reports released by Europe’s three primary financial regulatory agencies, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs).

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Chris Hall

JANUARY 31, 2023

A lack of engagement with key stakeholders and timing of greenwashing investigation among criticisms levelled at European Supervisory Authorities. Enforcement needed to tackle greenwashing Fixler said on LinkedIn that these actions “did more to tackle greenwashing than the entirety of SFDR [EU Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation].”

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Corporate Knights

JULY 14, 2022

EE: There’s a general concern about greenwashing and the dissonance between what many companies say they believe about ESG issues and what they are actually doing. Do you feel corporate greenwashing has increased or decreased from the 1970s and ’80s? And what can investors do about it? It must be addressed by changing the economy.

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Chris Hall

OCTOBER 30, 2024

Several of these funds also tackle broader social and environmental themes alongside the energy transition, which has led to inconsistent definitions and approaches across strategies. Nor will the fund channel transition capital to where it’s most needed – such as emerging markets firms.

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ESG Today

MAY 6, 2024

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong’s central banking institution, announced the publication of the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance, aimed at defining and classifying environmentally sustainable economic activities, to help inform decision making and facilitate green finance flows.

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Corporate Knights

APRIL 28, 2023

Each is a mind bomb (a term coined by late, great Greenpeace co-founder Bob Hunter) , marking, for many of us, a definitive before the collapse and after. While there are sustainable options that won't break the bank, it’s time to redirect our energy to push for policy change.

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Chris Hall

FEBRUARY 5, 2024

Around 90% of EU banks are exposed to climate transition risks, recent analysis from the ECB shows. Banks globally are increasingly feeling two-pronged pressure from regulators and investors to up their climate ambition and stop financing fossil fuels.

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Chris Hall

JUNE 1, 2022

Woehrmann, who had held the position since late 2018, will be replaced by Stefan Hoops, currently head of DWS parent Deutsche Bank’s corporate banking operations, from 10 June, according to a statement issued Wednesday. The officers reportedly held meetings with DWS and Deutsche Bank staff until lunchtime.

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Corporate Knights

APRIL 18, 2024

As Tyson’s VP of fresh meats marketing told Progressive Grocer magazine, “We are trying to be upbeat and different, with something that speaks definitively to [millennial and Gen Z consumers].” And Tyson isn’t the only one banking on planet-friendly meat to keep consumers coming back to the butcher. Walmart Canada stocks 2.5

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Chris Hall

JUNE 15, 2023

The European supervisory authorities (ESAs) and EU national competent authorities (NCAs) will need to build out their in-house resources and skill sets to effectively identify and handle instances of greenwashing by financial institutions, but greater guidance is recommended by observers rather than new waves of regulation.

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Chris Hall

MAY 10, 2024

NGO ShareAction has declared it will continue to aid investors in their push for transparency into HSBC’s green finance investment pledge, highlighting endemic issues across the banking sector. We also want the bank to hear from shareholders directly. times by 2030.

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Chris Hall

JUNE 21, 2024

Greenwashing is a growing risk in the Chinese fund management sector, as marketing of ESG products runs ahead of standards and regulatory oversight, a new report by Greenpeace has found. China falls behind Greenwashing has emerged as a major problem in developed countries over the last decade with the rise of ESG-labelled funds.

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Chris Hall

NOVEMBER 16, 2022

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have issued a Call for Evidence to stakeholders on greenwashing. . The ESAs have also asked for any available data to help them gain a more concrete sense of the scale of greenwashing and areas of particularly high risk. .

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3BL Media

JANUARY 18, 2024

Financial institutions and market participants will be able to refer to a common set of definitions under the CGT to facilitate sustainable development in markets covered by the CGT. The proposed guidance is designed to help firms better understand the FCA’s expectations under the anti-greenwashing rule and other associated requirements.

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Corporate Knights

JULY 25, 2023

With the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and environmental groups all in agreement, he added, “getting rid of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies is now a common sense bottom line.” The new guidelines detail the process and definitions behind the oil and gas subsidy phaseout.

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Environmental Finance

JULY 15, 2022

Berenberg Bank says it does not define itself as an impact investor despite running three 'impact-focussed' funds - a distinction it says helps avoid perceptions of greenwashing while definitions of impact are in flux, according to a senior employee.

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Chris Hall

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

“[This] seems appropriate, but the exact parameters of the exclusion [are currently unknown],” said Premlata Fagan, Managing Associate of Financial Regulation at law firm Linklaters. HM Treasury has also considered the potential impact of ESG ratings regulation on financial services firms.

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Chris Hall

MAY 17, 2024

European regulators have ratcheted up efforts to eliminate greenwashing from the investment sector. End of an era I – The fight against greenwashing inched ahead with the release of final guidelines for naming ESG- or sustainability-related funds by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

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James Militzer

MAY 19, 2022

For example, fossil fuel companies have engaged in ever more blatant greenwashing , touting clean energy in their annual reports and strategies but showing little progress in changing their actual business practices. Missing information also contributes to this gap.

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Chris Hall

AUGUST 4, 2023

The new President of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, recently spoke about investment’s role in delivering positive change. Like the World Bank, impact investors – along with responsible investors more generally – must think big; they must understand the constituents of success; and they must utilise those constituents as widely as possible.

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Chris Hall

OCTOBER 28, 2022

Regulation will never be sufficient to protect investors from greenwashing, says Alexandra Mihailescu Cichon, EVP at RepRisk. While this is to be encouraged as a step toward the transition to a more sustainable future, focused around lower-carbon economies, this same pressure has also led to an uptick in greenwashing.

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Chris Hall

JANUARY 23, 2023

Verena Ross, Chair at ESMA, said its labelling plans were necessary to address greenwashing risks in the bloc, with its main concern being funds that disclosed under Article 8. ESMA is also, separately, calling for evidence on greenwashing. It is currently reviewing submissions on this.

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Chris Hall

DECEMBER 18, 2024

Taxonomies define economic activities aligned with sustainability goals across multiple sectors and provide guidance to corporates and investors with an aim to mitigate greenwashing. He added that the bank was committed to overseeing the implementation process and the development of the initiative, throughout Azerbaijans COP29 presidency.

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Chris Hall

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

Levick also noted that the taxonomy could be employed via initiatives such as a net zero test, which the UK might apply to all its public investment decisions, utilising the taxonomy to evaluate whether investments align with the its definition of ‘green’.

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We Mean Business Coalition

AUGUST 23, 2023

The EU Green Taxonomy was designed to accelerate the flow of money into green companies and projects, while simultaneously protecting investors from greenwashing accusations. The EU Green Taxonomy represents an ambitious and commendable endeavour to guide financial flows towards sustainable companies and projects and combat greenwashing.

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B the Change

JULY 7, 2022

How Sustainable Finance Relates to CSR, SRI, and ESG Here’s a more formal definition of sustainable finance, involving three acronyms you’ll hear a lot about: CSR, SRI, and ESG. Indeed, one of the greatest challenges in sustainable finance is how to be sure whether an operation or investment is actually sustainable or simply greenwashing.

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Chris Hall

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Concerns over greenwashing have accelerated efforts by regulators and standard setters to develop and introduce more robust forms of disclosure and measurement to the burgeoning ESG investing market, he suggests. Impact investment is the next step along, because by definition it involves measuring rigorously the impact that you create.

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Chris Hall

OCTOBER 8, 2024

No country in the region has made reporting against the frameworks mandatory, further increasing greenwashing risk and due diligence costs. A comprehensive taxonomy can mitigate the risk of greenwashing by enforcing stringent requirements and maintaining transparency.” It should also mandate compliance and reporting.

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Chris Hall

OCTOBER 8, 2024

No country in the region has made reporting against the frameworks mandatory, further increasing greenwashing risk and due diligence costs. A comprehensive taxonomy can mitigate the risk of greenwashing by enforcing stringent requirements and maintaining transparency.” It should also mandate compliance and reporting.

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Chris Hall

DECEMBER 9, 2022

This is a big step for foreign investors who are eager to invest in China’s domestic green bond market but have concerns about greenwashing—inadvertently buying ‘green’ bonds that, in fact, support non-green projects. A key amendment requires 100% of the proceeds to fund green projects, instead of 50-70% previously. Investor implications.

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Chris Hall

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

“Understandably, being the first movers in the market, there is nervousness and caution amongst [JETP] stakeholders to get it right. “Investors face heightened concerns on the credibility of these transactions and potential greenwashing criticisms,” she says.

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Chris Hall

JUNE 20, 2024

However, changing the definition now, after firms have landed on their own positions, risks creating a lot of market disruption.”

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Chris Hall

FEBRUARY 24, 2023

“Nevertheless, it is better to have these scenarios, however imperfect, than not to have them and the NGFS’ receptiveness to feedback from the market is a definite positive,” she said. That is part of the challenge when collaborating around different methodologies and assumptions to build a framework across different disciplines.”

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Chris Hall

FEBRUARY 16, 2022

In such a crowded market, there are no standards for disclosure, transparency and quality, which raises concerns that greenwashing may go undetected. With various regulatory bodies globally initiating consultations on ESG ratings and data, regulation is definitely on the way.

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Chris Hall

APRIL 21, 2023

The FiNZ Action Plan aims to achieve four strategic outcomes relating to data, definitions and disclosure, the climate resilience of the financial sector, the adoption of credible transition plans, and the promotion of green and transition solutions and market.

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Chris Hall

JUNE 8, 2023

Regulatory uncertainty led to many managers downgrading their Article 9 funds to Article 8 in the second half of last year to avoid accusations of greenwashing, but there are some expectations of a resurgence in ‘dark green’ funds. billion in AuM, with a further €99 billion in Article 9 funds being downgraded in January this year.

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Chris Hall

AUGUST 17, 2022

The Concise Oxford Dictionary offers two definitions of “windfall”. Professor Trevor Williams of Derby University and former Chief Economist at Lloyds Bank said: “One-off taxes on windfall profits should not damage the energy industry. One is “an apple or other fruit blown from a tree by the wind”.

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