On 30 June 2022, the European Commission published a letter and call for input (dated 16 May 2022) to the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) regarding greenwashing risks and supervision of sustainable finance policies. In July 2021 the Commission adopted the ‘Strategy on Financing the Transition to a Sustainable Economy’ which outlined steps, in cooperation with the ESAs to monitor greenwashing risks and assessing whether supervisory mandates and powers are effective in addressing those risks while the implementation of the EU sustainable finance framework is ongoing. The Commission is asking the ESAs to provide input, by way of a progress and final report, on several aspects related to greenwashing and its related risks and the implementation, supervision and enforcement of sustainable finance policies intended to prevent greenwashing.

The progress reports should take stock of the work undertaken to date, focusing on how greenwashing is understood and where it may materialize, actions taken and tools developed to ensure adequate monitoring of greenwashing risks and early supervisory challenges in monitoring the application and enforcing new policies. The final reports should build on the findings of the progress reports and complement them, for instance, by providing examples of greenwashing cases and assessing their impact on the financial market, by assessing supervisory measures, supervisory obligations and powers related to fighting greenwashing cases and addressing greenwashing risks, and by assessing implementation of policies aiming at preventing greenwashing and addressing greenwashing risks.