RepRisk Finds Greenwashing Risk Up 28% as Transition Sectors Face Scrutiny

The number of companies linked to greenwashing rose 28% year on year to 1,594 in the 12 months to June 2026, according to RepRisk’s fifth annual Greenwashing Report. Over five years, greenwashing risk incidents increased by 112%, while the sector mix shifted away from traditional oil and gas companies towards renewable energy, mining, utilities, technology and financial institutions. RepRisk also found that biodiversity-related greenwashing overtook climate change and emissions for the first time in five years.

 

Transition Sectors Are Taking a Larger Share of Greenwashing Risk

 

Alternative Energy, Industrial Metals, Mining, Software and Computer Services, and Utilities together accounted for 29% of environmental issue linkages connected to greenwashing in 2026, up from 18% in 2022. Over the same period, Oil and Gas fell from 17% to 12%.

The shift suggests that scrutiny is increasingly following capital into the energy transition itself. As more investment moves towards renewable energy, transition minerals and low-carbon infrastructure, claims made by companies involved in those sectors are attracting closer attention rather than being treated as inherently sustainable.

 

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Financial Institutions Remain at the Centre of the Risk

 

Financial Services and Banks together represented one-fifth of all sector linkages among greenwashing-linked companies in 2026. Financial Services recorded 305 companies linked to greenwashing, up 40% year on year, while Banks reached 86, an increase of 23%.

That exposure comes from two directions. Financial institutions can face scrutiny over their own sustainability claims, but they are also exposed through the companies and projects they finance, invest in or underwrite. As capital allocation becomes a bigger part of the transition story, the credibility of the underlying projects becomes increasingly relevant to lenders and investors.

 

Biodiversity Has Overtaken Climate as the Leading Issue

 

RepRisk found that biodiversity-related greenwashing linkages nearly doubled from 162 in 2024 to 300 in 2026. Climate change and emissions remained broadly flat over the same period, rising only slightly from 272 to 275.

That marks a notable change in the greenwashing landscape. Climate claims have dominated sustainability scrutiny for years, but biodiversity, ecosystems and nature-related claims are now becoming just as important, reflecting the wider expansion of corporate sustainability commitments beyond carbon.

 

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The Risk Is Shifting With the Transition

 

RepRisk’s findings point to a more complicated phase of sustainability scrutiny. Greenwashing risk is no longer concentrated mainly in sectors with obvious emissions exposure. It is increasingly appearing in the industries, technologies and financial channels that are meant to support decarbonization.

The next challenge for companies and investors will be proving that transition-related claims are supported by clear evidence. As scrutiny broadens into biodiversity, finance and newer technologies, the quality of underlying data and the credibility of environmental claims will matter more than the label attached to the sector.