By Adam Riddell, Managing Client Director

Updates published last month by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) to its sustainable finance guidance and Codes of Practice should prompt communications teams working in a financial services environment in Jersey to ensure they are both in tune with their risk, compliance, legal and technical teams, and that they are confident and up to date in terms of their ESG and carbon literacy.

The JFSC’s updated sustainable finance framework introduces a clear and consistent baseline on identifying, assessing and managing sustainability related risks, with a particular focus on climate change risks.

But, perhaps of more pertinence to comms teams, it also introduces strengthened expectations, both in its Codes of Practice and guidance, around sustainability-related claims, anti-greenwashing measures and climate-related risk management.

Importantly, the updates make it clear that sustainability claims relating to firms, products and services “must be backed by robust evidence and must not be unclear, misleading or unfair”, with the new guidance kicking in as from Q1 2027.  

It’s a clear signal that sustainability messaging is a governance, compliance and reputational issue and not simply a branding exercise.  

There are a number of practical issues for comms teams to consider here:

 

• • the need for the communications function to operate closely with compliance, legal and risk teams. Greenwashing risk increasingly sits at the intersection of reputation and regulation, and communications teams must be key participants in those governance frameworks.

• • comms teams must ensure there is evidence to underpin every sustainability narrative. Auditable data, documented methodologies and internal sign-off processes must be in place before publishing sustainability claims.

• • language cannot rely on broad positioning statements and will need to evolve into more precise and measurable communication. This applies to vague terminology, unsupported imagery, selective comparisons and unsubstantiated sustainability claims.

• • there needs to be consistency across channels. The guidance references websites, social media, marketing materials and investor reporting.

• comms teams need to ensure that they are up to date in their ESG, sustainability and carbon literacy and skills, to be able to navigate the sustainable finance landscape with confidence.

 

A lot of this is already established best practice, but these updates provide a welcome reminder of the role comms teams must play as sustainable finance narratives become more sophisticated. Creativity and storytelling are important, but they must sit alongside evidence, governance and regulatory discipline.

The CIPR has a number of best practice ESG guides for members.