CBB joins global contest to fight risk of greenwashing
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) is joining a global competition aimed at developing tools to spot and prevent ‘greenwashing’ of financial products and services.
According to Investopedia, greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’s products are environmentally sound.
It involves making an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do.
The CBB joins 12 other international regulators taking part in the first edition of the Greenwashing TechSprint, run in collaboration with the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) – a group of more than 80 international organisations committed to supporting financial innovation in the interest of consumers.
The GFIN is currently chaired by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, which will host the competition on its Digital Sandbox.
Inviting participants to join the Greenwashing TechSprint, the CBB said contestants will get the opportunity to work with regulatory experts, a variety of stakeholders and professionals from across the globe, as they engage in a battle to develop a tool or solution that can help regulators and the market effectively tackle the risks of greenwashing in financial services.
Commenting on the imperative to build a more transparent, trustworthy and sustainable financial ecosystem by leveraging technology, CBB fintech and innovation unit director Yasmeen Al Sharaf said, “The world is at a critical juncture and the financial services sector has a unique responsibility to drive positive change. We are pleased to announce our participation in this TechSprint and look forward to finding solutions that will combat the growing risk of greenwashing in financial services.
“The number of investment products marketed as ‘green’ or making wider sustainability claims is growing. Exaggerated, misleading or unsubstantiated claims about environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials damage confidence in these products and the CBB wants to ensure that consumers and firms can trust that products have the sustainability characteristics they claim to have.”
She added that those seeking more information and guidance can send an email to fintech@cbb.gov.bh or visit the GFIN website: https://www.thegfin.com/.
The application window will open for four weeks on April 17 and to support the process, the GFIN is providing an information pack which can be found at https://online.flippingbook.com/view/925129533/8/.
Successful applicants will proceed to on-boarding which will take place on June 1 and 2, when firms will be trained on using the Digital Sandbox and get an in-depth overview of the TechSprint process.
The TechSprint will launch on June 5 and run for 3 months, ending with a showcase day in September.
Source: https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/1229132/CBB-joins-global-contest-to-fight-risk-of-greenwashing
