Accord Academy has launched, offering free to access online training for advisers and paraplanners to help with ESG research and the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) rules.
The first course is a short introduction to greenwashing, designed to help to build confidence and competence for everyone responsible for undertaking anti-greenwashing checks
Lee Coates, director of ESG Accord, says: “The first course is a ‘must see’ for paraplanners who are responsible for producing suitability letters. The course looks at how to identify greenwashing, the different types of greenwashing (we look at six) and at the end of the short course everyone gets an anti-greenwashing checklist.”
You can register for the course HERE.
Checking sustainability references:.
You’ll need to complete checks to ensure that any sustainability references are:
• Correct and capable of being substantiated
• Clear and presented in a way that can be understood
• Complete – do they omit or hide important information and do they consider the full lifecycle of the product or service?
• Fair and meaningful in relation to any comparisons to other products or services?
And –
• Information about the firm itself may be considered part of the ‘representative picture’ in a decision-making process. Is the firm information reconcilable with the product/service and are claims also fair, clear and not misleading?
References to sustainability characteristics could be present in, for example, communications that include statements, assertions, strategies, targets, policies, information, and images relating to a product or service
