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EU Authorities Release Final Reports on Greenwashing in Financial Sector
- ESGVoices
- Jun 6, 2024
- 3 min read
In a significant move towards ensuring transparency and trust in sustainability claims within the financial sector, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) — comprising the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) — have published their final reports on greenwashing.
Understanding Greenwashing and Its Implications
Greenwashing, as defined by the ESAs, involves making sustainability-related statements, declarations, actions, or communications that do not clearly and fairly reflect the underlying sustainability profile of an entity, financial product, or financial service. Such practices can mislead consumers, investors, and other market participants, undermining trust in the financial sector's commitment to genuinely sustainable practices.
The reports underscore the responsibility of financial market players to provide fair, clear, and non-misleading sustainability information. The ESAs emphasize that accurate sustainability claims are vital for investor protection and maintaining the integrity of ESG markets.
Current Supervisory Responses and Future Directions
The ESAs' reports provide a comprehensive overview of the current supervisory landscape regarding greenwashing risks. They highlight that national competent authorities (NCAs) are already taking steps to enhance supervision in this area. However, the reports also stress the need for a more coordinated and robust approach to combat greenwashing effectively.
ESMA's Final Report points out that supervising sustainability-related claims has become a top priority for NCAs. Several common supervisory actions have been launched to ensure consistent and effective supervision. However, challenges remain, particularly in terms of resource constraints and access to expertise and high-quality data.
Key Actions Recommended by ESMA:
Deepening Scrutiny: NCAs are urged to intensify their scrutiny of sustainability-related claims. This includes increasing human resources and expertise, investing in supervisory tools like SupTech solutions, and embedding greenwashing risks into their supervisory work programs.
Support and Guidance: ESMA will continue to support NCAs by monitoring greenwashing risks, deploying SupTech tools, and facilitating capacity building. Additional guidance for market participants and supervisors in high-risk areas of greenwashing is also on the agenda.
Reinforcement of Mandates: The European Commission is invited to reinforce NCAs’ and ESMA’s mandates in specific areas, such as benchmarks. This reinforcement includes ensuring NCAs have the powers to promote retail investors' financial education and access to necessary data.
Global Cooperation and Interoperable Standards
The ESAs acknowledge that addressing greenwashing requires a global response. This involves close cooperation among financial supervisors worldwide and the development of interoperable standards for sustainability disclosures. Such global collaboration is essential to ensure that sustainability claims are reliable and comparable across different markets and jurisdictions.
Significant Milestones and Recent Developments
The reports mark a significant milestone in the EU's efforts to enhance the credibility of sustainability claims in the financial sector. The coordinated approach by the ESAs aims to build a trustworthy environment for ESG markets, ensuring that sustainability-related information is not only transparent but also substantiated and accessible.
EIOPA’s Final Report provides detailed advice to the European Commission on greenwashing risks and the supervision of sustainable finance policies. The report outlines a common approach to supervising sustainability claims across the insurance and pensions lifecycle, emphasizing the need for accurate, substantiated, and up-to-date sustainability information.
EBA’s Report similarly stresses the importance of consistent supervision and provides a forward-looking view on enhancing sustainability-related supervision in the coming years.
ESAs Call for Enhanced Supervision and Improved Market Practices in Sustainability Claims
The ESAs' final reports on greenwashing are a clarion call for enhanced supervision and improved market practices in sustainability-related claims. By deepening scrutiny, supporting NCAs, and promoting global cooperation, the ESAs aim to foster a more transparent and trustworthy ESG market.
Financial market players are reminded of their critical role in avoiding unsubstantiated sustainability claims and ensuring that all sustainability-related information is fair, clear, and not misleading.
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