A fun fact – the word ‘greenwashing’ was first added to the Oxford English dictionary 22 years ago – in 2002. This would suggest it’s a relatively recent development – but it’s not. And the Oxford English dictionary itself cites its earliest appearance as being in 1987.
What is greenwashing in the context of financial regulation?
In simple terms, ASIC considers greenwashing to be “the practice of misrepresenting the extent to which a financial product or investment strategy is environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical”
ASIC Chair Joe Longo, in his keynote speech at the recent RIAA Conference, talked about how ASIC views greenwashing, how the regulator is addressing the issues they see, and what they expect of industry.
In a nutshell “the fundamental underlying principles are as old as regulation itself: the principles of accuracy and transparency”.
Read the full speech here,