Linklaters / AFME Greenwashing conference: reflections from an illuminating day

With around 200 clients in attendance, Linklaters and AFME led a fascinating in-person client conference on greenwashing on 27 November. 

We covered extensive ground in a packed morning agenda. Whether interested in policy development and supervisory challenges, the ESG litigation and enforcement environment (and how to keep out of it), or how the US political agenda is shaping energy transition in the US and globally, leading experts delivered something for everyone.

What was discussed?

A host of Linklaters experts from the UK and the EU moderated discussions with:

• Fayyaz Muneer of HM Treasury, who delivered a fascinating opening address on the UK government’s sustainable finance agenda post-Mansion House and COP 29, taking the audience through the government’s consultation on a UK Green Taxonomy, draft legislation on the regulation of ESG ratings providers, the UK’s implementation of the ISSB sustainability disclosure standards and the government’s plans to consult in the first half of 2025 on transition plans (you can find his slides here). 
• Alicia Kedzierski (Head of ESG at the UK FCA), Dora Blanchet (Head of the Sustainable Finance Unit at the EU’s ESMA) and Viet-Link Nguyen (Head of Sustainable Finance at the French AMF), who debated policy development and implementation challenges. The message was one of pragmatism in the face of the fast pace of development and an emphasis on showing your working whilst things are bedding down. 
• Pedro Faria (EFRAG Environmental lead; he has led on the development of EFRAG’s transition plan implementation guidance), Vanessa Havard-Williams (TFMR Lead) and Mark Manning (independent advisor on sustainable finance), who discussed the importance of transition plans as a strategy document, the benefits of increased transparency through the disclosure of transition plans, the shift from voluntary to mandatory disclosure of these plans, and a clear message that “we’ve got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable” as we’ll need to operate in an imperfect world in the interim. 
• Hayley Fletcher (Interim Senior Director, Consumer Protection at the UK CMA), who explored the UK competition regulator’s current and future enforcement powers when tackling greenwashing claims - alongside comparisons with consumer protection legislation, enforcement and litigation in the EU including under the forthcoming Green Claims Directive.
• Dr. Meghan O’Sullivan (member of the Linklaters International Advisory Group) who expertly set the morning’s conversation against the US political backdrop, reflecting on the impact of the US election on global energy transition, whilst also voicing optimism that pragmatic market forces will likely be equally influential on future developments. 

There was a clear and recurring theme throughout the conference about the importance of being able to “show your workings” as a key line of defense against greenwashing risks and that we can expect to see more enforcement action in respect of greenwashing in the financial and non-financial space. Clearly, this is set to remain a very hot topic for the foreseeable future – both for the financial sector and corporates alike. 

Please do get in touch with any of the Linklaters speakers, or your usual Linklaters contacts, who would be very happy to continue to explore any these themes with you.

What next?

As we come towards the end of the year, the next thing to look out for will be our annual Legal Outlook reports: 

• The Financial Regulation Legal Outlook 2025 is coming on 12 December and the Global ESG Legal Outlook in January.
• They will be followed by our annual Financial Regulation conference in February, in which we will explore a range of financial regulatory themes identified in the Outlook, ranging from AI and tech regulation, the regulatory enforcement environment, sustainability due diligence trends and challenges, and wholesale markets reforms.  

Also coming is AFME's 4th Annual European Sustainable Finance conference taking place in Amsterdam from 21-22 May 2025. The conference focuses on the aspects of sustainable finance most impactful for financial services firms, including sustainability disclosures & due diligence, climate risk management, transition plans & transition finance, regulatory challenges, greenwashing, and green financial products. Further details are available here.