Skyjed’s Post

📢 Greenwashing in Financial Services: A Growing Concern At the end of last year, the RepRisk report revealed a global 70% surge in climate-related greenwashing incidents within the Banks and Financial Services sectors compared to the previous year. Inconsistencies, exaggerations, and unverified claims in ESG-related product disclosures result in substantial penalties, like the recent $11.3M fine imposed on Mercer Super Australia. To avoid these risks, organisations must ensure their ESG claims are accurate, well-documented, and aligned with global standards. Companies are expected to demonstrate how sustainability is integrated into their product strategies and provide solid evidence for ESG targets, ensuring transparency and verifiability. In my experience, adopting robust governance and lifecycle management practices is essential for staying competitive and meeting regulatory expectations. Technological tools can help by centralising data, automating reviews, and continuously monitoring sustainability efforts. Here’s how Skyjed can help you avoid greenwashing: • Set sustainability goals and assess claims • Build evidence and centralise records • Monitor and improve claims with automated reviews Connect with us and read our blog to learn more! https://bit.ly/3z8jPzY #ProductGovernance #Sustainability #ESG #LifecycleManagement

📢 Greenwashing in Financial Services: A Growing Concern At the end of last year, the RepRisk report revealed a global 70% surge in climate-related greenwashing incidents within the Banks and Financial Services sectors compared to the previous year. Inconsistencies, exaggerations, and unverified claims in ESG-related product disclosures result in substantial penalties, like the recent $11.3M fine imposed on Mercer Super Australia. To avoid these risks, organisations must ensure their ESG claims are accurate, well-documented, and aligned with global standards. Companies are expected to demonstrate how sustainability is integrated into their product strategies and provide solid evidence for ESG targets, ensuring transparency and verifiability. Adopting robust governance and lifecycle management practices is essential for staying competitive and meeting regulatory expectations. Technological tools can help by centralising data, automating reviews, and continuously monitoring sustainability efforts. Here’s how Skyjed can help you avoid greenwashing: • Set sustainability goals and assess claims • Build evidence and centralise records • Monitor and improve claims with automated reviews Connect with us and read our blog to learn more! https://bit.ly/3B2QS96 #ProductGovernance hashtag #Sustainability hashtag #ESG hashtag #LifecycleManagement

One-size-fits-all is rarely a good look - and that applies to #ESG ratings data as much as it does to Bermuda shorts! My colleague Volker Lainer had it exactly right when he told ESG Insight that there are definite advantages to having a range of methodologies in use that would be lost if (as many expect) regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority comes to mean across-the-board standardisation. “ESG” encompasses a far broader mix of indicators, objectives, and metrics than most other forms of Enterprise Data. Dare I say: there’s often something almost qualitative about it… That’s not an argument or excuse for woolly thinking, vagueness, or the sort of self-assessment that have led to justified scepticism about #Greenwashing. On the contrary: Volker’s making the case for a spectrum of rigorous methodologies, which is the only way to capture this elusive concept. Do you agree? #EnterpriseDataManagement https://lnkd.in/exC-XtSk

🏛️ ESG for Financial Services 🌳 In the UK, the shift towards ESG has been driven by a combination of regulatory changes and market demand. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been pivotal in promoting transparency and accountability in ESG reporting. Here is a brief introduction to ESG for financial services operating in the UK, including examples, implementation tips, and a bit of history too! https://hubs.ly/Q02Hrvgm0

Navigating the Evolving ESG Reporting Landscape: Key Updates for 2024 As ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting reshapes the global business environment, regulatory frameworks are rapidly evolving. The European Union (EU) is spearheading efforts with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its EU Taxonomy Regulation initiatives. The CSRD expands ESG reporting requirements to nearly 50,000 companies, including non-EU firms with substantial European operations. This directive demands comprehensive sustainability reports that address Environmental, Social, and Governance impacts. In addition, the EU Taxonomy creates a standardized framework that defines which economic activities are considered environmentally sustainable, aimed at preventing greenwashing and fostering green finance. Meanwhile, in the U.S., although the regulatory landscape is not yet as developed, momentum is growing. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed new rules mandating climate-related financial disclosures. These would require public companies to report on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, climate-related risks, and how these risks may affect their economic performance. This move aligns the U.S. with global ESG trends and responds to growing investor demand for transparency in corporate sustainability. To stay ahead of these changes, Argos Risk’s AR Surveillance™ offers ESG scores, enabling organizations to meet evolving standards and regulatory requirements proactively. The benefits of strong ESG performance go beyond compliance. Companies with robust ESG practices improve their regulatory compliance, enhance profitability, drive sales growth, and ensure long-term stability. As regulatory pressure and investor focus on ESG increases, learn how Argos Risk® and AR Surveillance™ can help your organization remain competitive in the evolving market and integrate sustainability into your ESG strategy. sales@argosrisk.com #ESG #riskmangement

Greenwashing Alert! 🚨🌿 The recent cases of Vanguard Investments Australia and Mercer Superannuation serve as a wake-up call for businesses promoting sustainability. 🌎 Learn how these landmark rulings by ASIC underscore the critical need for accurate ESG claims. 📈🔍 Dive into the details in this insightful article from Holding Redlich 👉 https://buff.ly/3YGbrl9 Featuring insights from Joanne Jary, Caitlin Waldron, and Anneliese Castle 💡 📥 📥 📥 📥 📥 Dive deeper into ESG insights with our free daily newsletter! Subscribe now: https://buff.ly/3QlzuB6 📥 📥 📥 📥 📥 #ESG #Greenwashing #Compliance #BusinessEthics #Sustainability

Clean up in the ESG sector requires increasing cycle pressure on green washing claims that cannot be supported by evidence, including deficient ESG reporting and claims. This will include any green financing. https://lnkd.in/gPhwwGdB #sustainabledevelopmentgoals #sustainableleadership

There seems to be a big focus from ESMA around greenwashing at the moment and what regulators are doing to identify potential cases. It will be interesting to see what further actions are taking when the new ESMA guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms come into force too. #greenwashing #esg #sustainability

Listed companies have been put on notice by an industry analyst to uphold their ESG claims and mandated standards https://lnkd.in/gAgmTWTd #bestpractice #concerns #environmentalsocialgovernance #esg #martincurrie

Canadian 🇨🇦 listed companies: are your voluntary sustainability disclosures up to par? The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) - Autorités canadiennes en valeurs mobilières (ACVM) recently published their biennial report on their Continuous Disclosure Review Program. The purpose of this review is to assess publicly-listed companies’ #compliance with securities laws and provide information useful for them to better understand and comply with their continuous disclosure obligations and improve the #completeness and #quality of their #disclosures. One of the areas where regulators found room for improvement relates to overly promotional disclosure (page 20): “Disclosure pertaining to an issuer’s #ESG and/or #sustainability impact in [continuous disclosure] documents, news releases, website disclosure and voluntary documents such as sustainability or ESG reports has grown rapidly in recent years. We have observed an increase in issuers making potentially misleading, unsubstantiated or otherwise incomplete claims about business operations or the sustainability of a product or service being offered, conveying a false impression commonly referred to as “greenwashing”. The examples of greenwashing they highlight include: ➡ “disclosure about a target to transition to net zero which can be misleading if the issuer does not indicate what is included in its net zero target and if the issuer has no credible plan to achieve such a target" ➡ "disclosure claiming a material product or service is ESG “friendly” or “compliant” with industry standards which can be misleading without accompanying disclosure identifying the industry standards, the particular factors considered and how they are measured and evaluated.” The report goes on to provide reporting issuers with recommendations to avoid occurrences of greenwashing, which are of course nothing new and fully addressable by the application of proper disclosure standards. ℹ My recommendation to sustainability reporting practitioners = read this document and discuss it with your financial reporting and compliance colleagues. Comprehensive sustainability disclosures are not yet mandatory in Canada (although some on climate are expected soon). This means companies don't actually have to disclose anything. But if they choose to do so - to meet their investors' and customers' information needs or match their competitors - the above review reminds us that they must still meet existing disclosure rules. Note that we're talking about securities regulators here, not the Competition Bureau (implementing Bill C-59). But the message is the same. Of course, the easy fix is to pull any ESG or sustainability information from websites and report... but is that really the way to go? 🤔 Read the report: https://lnkd.in/e_ek5xV5