ESG Reporting Sustainability

ESG reporting sustainability claims carry a risk that catches organisations acting in good faith, which is greenwashing exposure.

The exposure does not only sit in a formal report. It sits in ordinary marketing. A carbon neutral claim on a website. A sustainable label on packaging. A net zero commitment in a tender response. A supplier code that describes standards you do not actually verify.

Two patterns cause most of the difficulty. Claims made about the future with no plan capable of delivering them. And claims about a supply chain based on a supplier’s word rather than on anything checked.

The conservative approach is to describe only what you have actually measured, name the boundary of the measurement, and avoid absolute language entirely.

Misleading conduct rules apply to sustainability claims like any other. ASIC administers the sustainability reporting requirements and has an active interest in this area. This is general information rather than legal advice.

See Sentrient’s GRC system and modern slavery course.