In this video, Joshua Kendall, senior ESG analyst at Insight Investment, looks at the problem of greenwashing – unsubstantiated claims about a product’s environmental benefits – in fixed income ESG investments and how investors should best respond to the problem.
In 2019, Insight Investment assessed more than 70 green bonds and found that 15% failed minimum criteria:
- ESG performance of issuer
- Green bond framework
- Quantitative impact
“Many examples of greenwashing today can be found in green bond instruments. The onus is on the buyers of green bonds as well as the issuers to make sure they are up to standard?” Kendall says.
