The philosophy of the Transparency Task Force is captured very neatly by the simple but profoundly wise quote from Justice Louis Brandeis who said “Sunlight is the best disinfectant”.

That quotation was first used in his groundbreaking book of 1914 and it’s been used many thousands of times since. It does such a great job of capturing the importance of transparency, hence it is such a natural touch stone for the campaign work that we do.

The need for greater transparency in the financial sector has become particularly important in relation to everything around the topic of ESG, and we have rightly become very concerned about the issues of greenwashing and green-hushing.

Both are having a terribly counterproductive impact on the collective efforts of many individuals and organisations around the world who are working hard to drive forward the positive, progressive and purposeful reform that is so desperately needed.

Greenwashing is the deceptive practice of making unsubstantiated or misleading claims about the environmental friendliness of a product, service, or company, so as to appear more environmentally responsible than they actually are. See more details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing

Here’s an informative article about the risks associated with greenwashing from the industry’s perspective: 

Ten key steps to reduce the risk of a greenwashing regulatory enquiry 

Green-hushing is a strategic approach adopted by companies in which they remain silent or secretive about their environmental goals and commitments, even if they have set net-zero targets, often due to a reluctance to openly acknowledge their environmental responsibilities. This practice has attracted criticism from climate scientists who accuse such entities of avoiding public accountability. See more details here: https://www.thecorporategovernanceinstitute.com/insights/lexicon/what-is-green-hushing/

We are running this important event to bring together key people including thought leaders, policy makers, politicians and regulators around what could, should and indeed must be done to tackle the worrying consequences of both green washing and green hushing.

Please do attend the event – there is no Planet B, and there urgently needs to be a collective endeavour to do all we possibly can to help save the planet we all depend on.