RepRisk logs 1,594 greenwashing-linked companies, up 28%

RepRisk counted 1,594 companies linked to greenwashing incidents in 2026, up 28% from 1,243 in 2025, in its fifth annual greenwashing report released Oct. 6.

RepRisk documented a 112% increase in greenwashing risk incidents since 2022. Transition-linked sectors added 11.4 percentage points to their share of greenwashing incidents over the past five years, while oil and gas lost 4.9 percentage points, according to the report.

Fund selectors and allocators screening transition-labelled issuers now need to examine water use, infrastructure and distribution footprints that can sit outside the headline claim.

Financial services was the most exposed sector, with 305 companies linked to greenwashing incidents, or 15.6% of all sector linkages; banks ranked eighth, according to the report.

Alexandra Mihailescu Cichon, RepRisk vice president and global head of market development, described two recurring patterns in transition-linked claims. One is a company that does not give the full picture, such as an AI data center running on emissions-free power that still spurs water use and infrastructure demands. The other is a pledge that outruns delivery, such as renewable gas developed with no network ready to distribute it. “So something can be transition-enabling, but also is not necessarily impact-free,” she said. A lack of transparency exposes a company, and the banks and asset managers that invest in it, to reputational risk and greenwashing claims, she said.

The report also recorded a first in its five-year run: impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity generated more environmental greenwashing linkages than climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and pollution — 300 against 275.