International board set up to tackle ‘greenwashing’ by firms

DUBAI: A new international body will oversee companies’ environmental policies to ensure investors are not being duped by false sustainability claims known as ‘greenwashing’, Arab News reported.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) was revealed at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, and is expected to commence work next year.

It will have offices in Montreal, London and San Francisco, and will secure funding from the governments and businesses in a number of countries.

Erkki Liikane, chairman of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, welcomed the creation of the ISSB, and said that the investors need assurance that ‘greenwashing’ of non-environmentally-friendly practices is being tackled.

“To properly assess… opportunities and risks [related to sustainability and climate change], investors require high quality, transparent and globally comparable sustainability disclosures that are compatible with the financial statements,” he said.