LONDON (Reuters) – As firms market their environmental, social and governance-related (ESG) credentials in an attempt to tap the trillions of dollars looking to have climate- and socially-friendly impact, regulators are beginning to dig deeper into their claims.
Below are some examples of where regulators have begun to hold companies to account over greenwashing:
DWS
German and U.S. officials are investigating reports and a whistleblower’s allegations that DWS exaggerated the green credentials of its funds. DWS has repeatedly denied that it misled investors. Its chief executive resigned on Wednesday after the company’s offices were raided by German prosecutors in connection with allegations.
BNY MELLON
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fined BNY Mellon Investment Adviser $1.5 million to resolve charges it misstated ESG investment policies for some mutual funds it managed.
VALE
The SEC is suing Brazilian miner Vale SA for allegedly making false and misleading disclosures about the safety of its dams ahead of a 2019 disaster that killed 270 people. Vale manipulated dam safety audits, obtained fraudulent stability certificates and misled local governments, communities and investors with its environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures, the SEC alleged in a statement and court filing.
DROPPING LABELS
Regulators in France, Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland told Reuters they had found a number of instances where ESG claims were not backed up. The asset managers were asked to provide more information to support those claims, or forced to drop sustainability labels.
(Reporting by Simon Jessop, Huw Jones and Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
