RepRisk Reports Biodiversity-Related Greenwashing More Than Tripled in Twelve Months

A RepRisk 2025 report found biodiversity-related greenwashing more than tripled over the past year, with banking and financial services seeing a 19% jump in flagged organisations. The findings signal rising regulatory scrutiny and reputational risk for companies making unsubstantiated nature-related claims.

A RepRisk 2025 annual report documented a sharp increase in biodiversity-related greenwashing across global companies, finding incidents tied to nature risks more than tripled over the past twelve months. The share of companies facing simultaneous biodiversity and greenwashing risks doubled over five years, rising from 3% in 2021 to 6% this year. Researchers emphasised that almost half of global GDP depends directly on nature's services, meaning biodiversity loss translates into commercial and financial vulnerabilities for businesses worldwide.

The banking and financial services sector is notably affected, experiencing a 19% jump in organisations flagged for greenwashing risk over the previous year, indicating growing regulatory scrutiny and operational risk. Trillions of dollars in major economies like the United States and China rely on nature-dependent sectors. Companies making misrepresented sustainability claims face reputational damage, potential regulatory action, and financial losses, while investors and financial partners are increasingly deterred by a lack of trustworthy environmental transparency.

Businesses should urgently align environmental claims with verifiable, tangible nature-based actions to secure long-term viability and avoid reputational, regulatory, and financial exposure. Companies should treat trust and transparency as essential for commercial survival and market stability. Financial-sector firms in particular should monitor rising regulatory scrutiny following the 19% jump in flagged organisations, and implement proactive biodiversity risk management to ensure stability for financial partners, stakeholders, and customers amid intensifying ecological and capital-market pressure.

Key figure — Sector trend: banking and financial services saw a 19% jump in organisations flagged for greenwashing risk