October 2026
Greenwashing incidents have more than doubled in five years, as exposure spreads across those financing, supplying, and driving demand in the energy transition
# I. Greenwashing is rising again – and the risk is broadening
RepRisk’s fifth annual Greenwashing Report1 examines how greenwashing2 risk is evolving alongside the energy transition, as growing investment and public attention bring greater focus to the companies, technologies, and financial institutions driving it.
The focus is timely. Financial-sector executives surveyed for RepRisk’s 2026 Business Conduct Risk Intelligence Report3 ranked climate- and energy transition-related issues as the second most material business conduct risk that they expect to face over the next three years, after AI-related issues.
As capital flows toward renewable energy, transition minerals, low-carbon infrastructure, and other climate solutions, environmental claims are facing closer examination. Attention is increasingly extending beyond traditional high-emitting sectors to the industries, technologies, projects, and sources of financing supporting the transition itself.
The findings point to a changing greenwashing landscape. While climate-related claims remain important, concerns are broadening to include biodiversity, ecosystems, land use, and other environmental impacts. At the same time, greenwashing exposure is spreading across many of the sectors helping to deliver the transition.
As the energy transition redraws the greenwashing map, RepRisk data4 shows where to look.
