A question of intent

In a response to the European Supervisory Authorities’ (ESA) recent consultation on the risk of greenwashing, EFAMA has underlined the main attributes of intentional greenwashing.

The paper emphasised two key components of greenwashing assessments: knowingly misrepresenting sustainability-related practices or features of a product, and the objective to deceive the recipient of the sustainability claim.

In the event that there is no intention to mislead the receiver, a case for greenwashing may still be argued for where there is gross negligence on the part of the financial market participants making the sustainability claim, according to EFAMA.

The association also identified the need to address any regulatory gaps relating to greenwashing before proposing new legislation, in an attempt to encourage clarity across Europe and...