greenwashing

Subscribe to greenwashing via RSS
portion of trees against office buildings

Guidelines indicate when asset managers may legitimately use ESG or sustainability-related terms in their fund names.

By Nicola Higgs, Laura Ferrell, and Charlotte Collins

On 14 May 2024, ESMA published its final Guidelines on funds’ names using ESG- or sustainability-related terms. The Guidelines aim to address the risk of funds’ names misleading investors by ensuring that their names can be supported in a material way by evidence of sustainability characteristics or objectives that are reflected fairly and consistently in the fund’s investment objectives and policy.

ESMA originally consulted on the Guidelines in November 2022 (see this blog post), but finalisation has been delayed while reviews of the AIFMD and UCITS Directive were completed. Notably, ESMA received substantive feedback on the consultation and made several amendments to the Guidelines accordingly.

Cloudless day at financial district of London

The final guidance clarifies the scope and application date of the rule, and answers questions around good practice and accessing third-party data.

By Nicola Higgs and Jaime Martin

On 23 April 2024, the FCA published its final guidance (FG23/4) on its new anti-greenwashing rule, which comes into force on 31 May 2024. The anti-greenwashing rule will require all authorised firms to ensure that any reference they make to the sustainability characteristics of their financial products and services are…

Tax-Exempt-Organizations-Leaf-Coins-Jar-1536x1042

The FCA’s long-awaited regime seeks to raise standards, increase consumer understanding, and reduce instances of greenwashing.

By Paul A. Davies, Laura N. Ferrell, Sarah E. Fortt, Nicola Higgs, Betty M. Huber, James McCrory, Nell Perks, Michael D. Green, Clare Scott, James Bee, Anne Mainwaring, Jaime Martin, Ella McGinn, and Charlotte Collins

On 28 November 2023, the FCA published its Policy Statement (PS23/16) containing final rules on its Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labelling regime. The FCA originally consulted on this regime in October 2022 (see this Latham blog post). Publication of the final rules was somewhat delayed in light of the volume of feedback received to the consultation.