ESMA published a thematic note on January 14, 2026, providing guidance on clear, fair, and not misleading communications regarding ESG strategies, specifically ESG integration and ESG exclusions, to mitigate greenwashing risks in non-regulatory materials like marketing. This matters because sustainability claims heavily influence investor decisions, and misleading communications can lead to supervisory actions, reputational damage, and loss of trust, aligning with existing EU rules under SFDR and related frameworks without imposing new disclosures.
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What Changed
This is not a formal regulatory change but supervisory guidance reinforcing four principles for non-regulatory communications (e.g., marketing materials, websites, investor presentations, voluntary reports):
Accurate: Claims must fairly represent sustainability profiles without exaggeration, falsehoods, omissions, cherry-picking, vagueness, or misleading ESG terminology/imagery.
Accessible: Information must be easy to understand and navigate, with layered substantiation in electronic formats
What You Need To Do
- Review and update all non-regulatory ESG communications (marketing, websites, presentations, DDQs, PPMs) against the four principles and do's/don'ts
- Define and clearly explain ESG integration/exclusions (e
- Ensure consistency across channels, substantiate claims with accessible evidence, and avoid vagueness or overstatements
- Train compliance/marketing teams; monitor for updates as further thematic notes may follow
- Cross-reference with first note and regulations like SFDR, Cross-Border Distribution Regulation
Key Dates
14 January 2026 - Publication date of the thematic note on ESG strategies (second in series).
1 July 2025 - Publication of ESMA's first thematic note on ESG credentials (to be read in combination).
Compliance Impact
Urgency: High – Immediate risk of enforcement for greenwashing in high-visibility ESG marketing, amid rising supervisory scrutiny; non-compliance threatens fines, remediation, and reputational harm as investor focus on sustainability grows. Proactive alignment builds trust and differentiates firms.