Greenwashing: Do your super fund’s credentials stack up?

If you’re one of the millions of Australians who expect their money to be invested responsibly, you’re probably wondering how genuine your super fund’s claims about sustainability and ethics are, and how much is marketing hype.

The good news is that super funds are required to disclose detailed information about their investment holdings and ASIC, the regulator concerned with financial sector misconduct, has prioritised pursuing providers who make misleading claims.

What is greenwashing?

When we’re talking about investments, greenwashing can be defined as the practice of misrepresenting the extent to which a financial product or investment strategy is environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical.

Increasing demand for responsible and ethical investments partially explains why greenwashing has become a problem.