Library | ESG issues
Greenwashing
Greenwashing refers to the misleading practice of overstating or falsely presenting an organisation’s environmental or sustainability efforts. It can involve deceptive marketing, incomplete disclosures, or exaggerated claims about products and corporate practices. In finance, greenwashing undermines ESG credibility, leading to reputational damage, legal risks, and loss of investor trust. Strengthening transparency and accountability is essential to ensure capital supports truly sustainable initiatives and maintains market integrity.
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Making credible sustainability claims: A guidance series for schemes and companies collection
This report guides companies and sustainability schemes in making credible environmental claims under the EU ECGT Directive. It differentiates between specific and generic claims, outlines performance requirements, and offers principles for clear, accurate communications to prevent greenwashing and restore consumer trust.
Stop in the name of law: How litigation is challenging offsetting claims
This report analyses the rising legal and regulatory scrutiny of corporate carbon offsetting claims. It examines landmark cases in Europe, Australia, and the US, highlighting a global shift towards banning misleading 'net-zero' labels. The findings underscore the necessity for companies to prioritise genuine in-house emissions reductions over carbon credits.
Spillover: Shell and TotalEnergies' expansive roles in the voluntary carbon market
This report analyses the extensive involvement of Shell and TotalEnergies in the voluntary carbon market. It highlights how fossil fuel majors use carbon credits to obscure a lack of absolute emissions reductions, while exercising structural influence over credit supply, project development, and market governance.
The traffic light effect in ESG ratings
This research identifies a 'traffic light effect' in ESG ratings, where investor-paid raters like MSCI suppress rating changes to favour stability and peer alignment. Implemented downgrades predict negative returns of 2.8% over twelve months, but suppressed downgrades do not, indicating that discretionary overrides impede value-relevant signals to investors.
Can investor coalitions drive corporate climate action?
This research evaluates Climate Action 100+’s impact on corporate climate action using a Difference-in-Differences analysis. It finds no evidence of improved disclosure or historical emission reductions. While the coalition influenced long-term targets for specific companies, the absence of short-term milestones suggests potential decarbonisation backloading and greenwashing risks.
Deconstructing AI hype: A playbook for resistance
This research provides a materialist deconstruction of AI hype, arguing it facilitates power concentration rather than just misrepresenting technology. It details how "hypers" manufacture urgency and capture credibility. The paper offers a playbook for resistance through contestation, undermining legitimacy and building collective agency to challenge AI entrenchment.
Thematic notes on clear, fair & not misleading sustainability-related claims: Addressing greenwashing risks in support of sustainable investments: Third note: impact claims
This ESMA report provides guidance on avoiding greenwashing in sustainability impact claims. It outlines four key principles—accuracy, accessibility, substantiation, and timeliness—while defining theoretical concepts like intentionality and additionality. Practical do’s and don’ts for funds and bonds help market participants ensure communications are clear, fair, and not misleading.
Beyond greenwashing: ESG disclosure substance, investor flows, and fund behavior
This research examines mutual fund ESG disclosures in shareholder letters. It finds that only 'opportunistic' disclosures focused on financial value attract significant investor flows. While aggregate data suggests greenwashing, granular analysis reveals 'impact' disclosures result in genuine portfolio improvements. However, opportunistic claims increase outflow risks if performance disappoints.
Generative debunking of climate misinformation
This research introduces 'generative debunking' using large language models to combat climate misinformation. By synthesising psychological best practices with computational tools, the study develops three models using the 'truth sandwich' approach. Expert evaluation indicates that structured prompting and retrieval-augmented generation significantly improve the identification and explanation of logical fallacies.
The Box: syndication fee league tables
This benchmark series provides transparency on bank syndication fees, comparing income from sustainable and unsustainable activities. It tracks league tables for global and regional financial institutions, including the ASEAN and Japanese markets. The analysis enables investors to incentivise behavioural change by identifying banks that continue to prioritise fossil fuel financing.
Oil spill 2: How fossil fuel interests are polluting the US's carbon market rulemaking
This report investigates the influence of fossil fuel companies and trade associations on US carbon market regulations. It details extensive lobbying in California and representative roles at the federal level, arguing that these efforts maintain low-quality credits to delay genuine decarbonisation and enable greenwashing.
Adaptbase Search
Adaptbase Search is an AI-powered knowledge base that structures climate adaptation data from global city plans. It allows finance professionals to track urban resilience investments, benchmark city responses to climate hazards, and verify adaptation claims through a standardised knowledge graph of actions and outcomes.
Greenwashing as aspirational signaling: From burden to benefit?
This research analyses the transition of sustainability disclosures from voluntary practices to mandatory legal frameworks in the US and EU. It examines the 'greenwashing enforcement gap' and argues that aspirational signalling, despite inaccuracies, can drive institutional change and attract a prosocial workforce to improve corporate conduct.
Guidance for voluntary climate change mitigation
This guidance outlines expectations for voluntary climate change mitigation in New Zealand. It details six core principles for high-integrity carbon credits, including additionality and permanence. It distinguishes between contribution and exclusive-use claims and clarifies the role of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme and Nationally Determined Contributions.
Annual sustainable investment asset owner survey series
This benchmark series examines global asset owner attitudes and approaches to sustainable investment. It tracks adoption levels, thematic priorities, and perceived barriers across diverse regions and asset classes. The research provides factual insights into how sustainability factors are integrated into core investment practices, aiding portfolio construction and risk management.
Limited impacts of shareholder pressure on climate strategy of fossil firms
This research examines shareholder pressure on US fossil fuel firms’ climate strategies. Using NLP to analyse 10-K filings and SEC regulatory changes, it finds limited impact on substantive reforms. Firms often employ symbolic disclosures or procedural tactics to resist decarbonisation, suggesting that mandatory policy is required for transition.
