Department for Business and Trade written question – answered at on 13 June 2023.
Seema Malhotra
Shadow Minister (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment his Department has made of potential greenwashing by businesses in relation to their environmental, social and governance practices.
Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the risk that businesses can make unsubstantiated claims in relation to environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. In April 2020, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published research, which found that “a high proportion of practitioners in the field of socially responsible investment feel that NFR [non-financial reporting] provided by companies is often an exercise in ‘impressions management’ or ‘greenwashing”.
The Green Finance Strategy (March 2023) set out the Government’s approach to regulating ESG disclosures, including through the UK’s adoption of International Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
Yes1 person thinks so
No1 person thinks not
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