EU-regulated ‘sustainable’ funds invest £14bn in biggest polluters

Investigation finds funds touting ethical credentials include fast fashion labels and fossil fuel companies

Fast fashion labels, fossil fuel companies and SUV-makers are present in EU-regulated sustainable" funds that tout their ethical credentials in their names, the Guardian and media partners can reveal, with $18bn (14bn) of their investments going to the 200 biggest polluters.

Investors hold more than $87bn (68bn) in funds that disclose under environmental and social sections of EU sustainable finance rules while including some of the biggest emitters of planet-heating gas, an analysis of data from the last quarter of 2023 shows. About one-fifth of the $87bn investments come from funds that also market themselves using environmentally-friendly terms.