What do you call sustainable finance targets and disclosures that are abandoned by companies because the government amended a law to crack down on greenwashing?
Well, you call them greenwashing lies.
Ian Bickis, reporting for the Canadian Press:
Canada’s largest bank said Tuesday that it has scrapped one of its flagship climate commitments and is holding back on publicizing other climate progress in part because of new rules around greenwashing.
In its latest sustainability report, RBC said that it has dropped its target of facilitation $500 billion in sustainable financing after finding issues with its methodology.
The bank said the findings, as well as amendments to Canada’s Competition Act that set expectations around environmental claims, led to it “retiring” its commitment.
RBC also decided not to disclose its energy supply ratio, an important measure of how its financing of high- and low-carbon energy compare, also citing changes to the act that require environmental claims be backed up.
The bank had last year committed to release its ratio following pressure from shareholders including the New York pension system.
It also said it won’t be disclosing how it’s making progress on its commitment to provide $35 billion to low-carbon energy by 2030.
The sustainable finance section in RBC’s latest sustainability report has only 4 paragraphs that talk about how they are giving up on their targets because they can’t substantiate their numbers. Incredible.
Someone should sue RBC for securities fraud.
An Inconvenient Thought 