ESG DISCLOSURES: EU ESMA VERSUS US SEC: EXPLORING

The Low-Down on ESG Disclosures

Remember the DWS greenwashing scandal? The Group’s own global head of sustainability accused DWS of issued misleading statements in its 2020 annual report, triggering investigations from both German and American regulators in late September 2021.

This raises the question of asset managers’ credibility on ESG investing and how to test it. Indeed, this claim directly touches on the definition of ESG assets and investment approaches, thus making the case for robust ESG disclosures. It likewise stresses the importance for any organization to approach the ESG commitment with intentionality and a well-thought out strategy and implementation plan. This comes precisely at a time when the EU Green Taxonomy is significantly increasing clarity on just what is ESG performance… and what is not. 

The DWS case sends out a resounding call to issuers and asset managers to closely monitor ESG disclosures. The goal? Develop credible and transparent compliance approaches. It all boils down to delivering meaningful non-financial information across all assets.

Key Takeaways

With that in mind, Ksapa stresses two equally concrete and transparent ESG approaches, one from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the other, from the US Securities and Exchange Commission ESG Disclosure.