Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

ESG, AI and Privacy 'Washing': UK legal risks (CPUTR 2008, FSMA 2000, misrepresentation) and practical steps to substantiate claims and avoid liability

Published on: 25 October 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Commercial expert

Legal News

Article summary

ESG context and glossary

Regulators, investors, employees, other stakeholders, and society more broadly are propelling companies to engage with their ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) agenda.

In recent years there has been a clear cultural shift towards a worldwide community with a heightened social and environmental conscience.

Domestic and international laws, rules, policies, politics, and broad commercial pressures together place both explicit and implicit expectations on companies to get their ESG strategy right.

Responsible organisations will recognise the notion of ‘greenwashing’: the practice of making false or overstated assertions about a company’s environmental credentials and the sustainability of its products, services and environmental impact, so as to seem more environmentally aware and less harmful to the planet.

Yet corporate and consumer ethics now reach beyond the ‘E’. They also reflect a call for openness, integrity, and for modern commerce to be enlisted as a driver of positive change.

Accordingly, businesses should be mindful of wider dimensions of the ‘washing’ phenomenon:

‘pinkwashing’ is a term that has two main different connotations...

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