Greenwashing and Internal Audit: Governance, Risk, and the Growing Regulatory Crackdown

The Institute of Internal Auditors Presents: All Things Internal Audit  In this episode, Ahmed Sharif Hawky and Emmanuel Pascal discuss why greenwashing is no longer just a reputational risk, but also a governance and assurance challenge. Together they break down how greenwashing qualifies as legal misrepresentation, why most control environments are far weaker than leadership realizes, and what a practical audit approach looks like — from mapping sustainability claims across  channels to using data analytics and intensity ratios to test what companies report and what they don't.     HOST: Ahmed Sharif Shawky, CIA, CPA CEO, SustainGRC GUESTS: Emmanuel Pascal, CIA, CRMA, CFE CEO, Condor Strike  Member, Committee of Research and Education Advisors, Internal Audit Foundation   KEY POINTS: Introduction [00:00-00:00:50] Defining Greenwashing [00:00:50-00:02:14] Political Backlash vs. Regulatory Reality [00:02:16-00:03:21] Greenwashing as Misrepresentation [00:03:24-00:06:13] Global Greenwashing Regulations [00:06:13-00:07:16] Greenwashing as Value Fraud [00:07:22-00:11:07] Assessing Greenwashing Risk [00:11:14-00:13:49] Green Strategy and Red Flags [00:13:50-00:14:48] Using Data Analytics to Test Sustainability Claims [00:14:48-00:18:10] Building a Strong Control Framework [00:18:13-00:19:27] Internal Audit's Approach to Greenwashing Risk [00:19:27-00:20:58] Training Auditors on Sustainability [00:20:58-00:21:52] DWS Greenwashing Case [00:21:52-00:23:42] 2026 International Conference Promo [00:23:47-00:24:18] Closing [00:24:25-00:24:34] IIA RELATED CONTENT:  Interested in this topic? Visit the links below for more resources: <a id= "OWA31dc9da9-582e-45bb-2613-06b83316f9cb" class="x_OWAAutoLink" title= "https://www.theiia.org/en/events/conference/hybrid-conferences/general-audit-management-conference/program/" href= "https://iiaic.org/?_gl=1%2A