Panel Discussion: TCFD & SFDR- An update on European sustainable finance regulation as Europe expands dominance in ESG- can SFDR eradicate greenwashing?

Sustainability regulations are on the rise, all in an effort to manage capital flows towards sustainable investments, but the question remains, are these regulations succeeding? Examining Europe’s new rulebook, SFDR, designed to ensure that asset managers document their ESG numbers amid concerns that the rapid pace of growth has facilitated so-called greenwashing, whereby environmental impact claims are exaggerated or misrepresented. Encouraging the integration of ESG factors in the investment processes of asset managers, whilst ensuring investor protection and adequate shareholder rights.

Without reliable, discoverable data, financial companies and traders cannot effectively find the most promising ESG investment opportunities; this can hinder economic growth as well as environmental and social progress. The UK is developing its own green taxonomy and Sustainable Disclosures Regulation (SDR). Are the UK’s upcoming regulations consistent with the EU’s framework?

• Develop strategies to contend with increased demands for ESG transparency through effective data mining, due diligence and the challenges posed by SFDR (articles 8 and 9)
• How to eradicate the inconsistencies regarding the scope and the language of the recent regulations on sustainable finance may confuse investors who could misinterpret the vast array of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information at their disposal.
• Is the continued absence of reliable and consistent data a significant drag to their adoption? How can policy makers to ensure that investors have reliable data at hand?
• How is the new regulation working in practice to create more transparency and authenticity eliminating examples of ‘greenwashing’ where sustainability is not truly embedded into processes?
• With the advent of increased sustainability-related disclosures being made available in the public domain, this should provide investors with verifiable requirements for sustainability claims- yet this is not happening on a large scale, why?
• Current state of play with transition planning and transition finance and how such plans fit within the TCFD framework