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IN THIS ISSUE / Checkout $12.9m greenwashing fine for Vanguard Investments ANDY KOLLMORGEN Since making greenwashing in the financial services sector an enforcement priority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission [...]

ANDY KOLLMORGEN In another case of the corporate regulator cracking down on greenwashing in the financial services sector, the super fund Active Super was found in June to have misled [...]

Australians are interested in where their seafood comes from and how sustainable it is. Recent research has shown that consumers associate ‘local’ seafood labels with freshness and sustainability, and we [...]

ANDY KOLLMORGEN When an investment firm says it screens out certain holdings as part of its environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, investors with an ethical agenda should be able [...]

Active Super, a super fund in the financial services sector, has been found guilty of greenwashing by the corporate regulator. The fund misled its members about its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials by claiming to avoid investments that harm the environment and community, such as gambling, coal mining, and oil tar sands. However, the Federal Court discovered that Active Super had invested in securities from companies involved in these areas. The court rejected the fund's defense that it held these non-compliant securities indirectly in pooled funds, stating that ordinary consumers would not make such a distinction. This case serves as a warning to companies making sustainable investment claims to accurately reflect their true position. [Extracted from the article]

Filters come in three main forms: a filter bag you wash your clothes in, a filter installed on your washer's drain hose, or a microfibre laundry ball (which picks the microfibres up). Buy efficient appliances Water-guzzling washers and energy-depleting dryers can chew up your budget and a serious amount of the planet's valuable resources. With laundry a certainty of life, along with death and taxes, you may as well make it as gentle as possible for the planet and the future generations who will inhabit it. [Extracted from the article]

ASIC has at no stage suggested that the error arose otherwise than inadvertently". The company says: "Vanguard self-reported the error to ASIC, consistent with its statutory obligations, and issued a supplementary product disclosure statement for each affected fund correcting the error. In Checkout, CHOICE Sep 23, we published an item titled "Vanguard Investments caught greenwashing - again". [Extracted from the article]

When an investment firm says it screens out certain holdings as part of its environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, investors with an ethical agenda should be able to trust the claim. "We know that investors are increasingly seeking investment options that exclude certain industries, and investors need to be able to rely on investment screens to help them make these choices", says ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court. In December 2022, Vanguard Investments Australia copped a $39,960 fine from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for such conduct, but it seems the lessons weren't learnt. [Extracted from the article]

The corporate regulator ASIC has released a list of 35 interventions it's made against companies that have made false or misleading environmental claims, a practice known as "greenwashing". "All 35 of our interventions are aimed squarely at promoting fair and transparent markets so that retail investors and financial consumers are well informed and not misled on the "green credentials" of investments and listed companies", Chester adds. [Extracted from the article]

Environmental NGO Greenpeace Australia has asked the ACCC to investigate car maker Toyota over its environmental claims, which Greenpeace says are "greenwashing" and amounts to misleading and deceptive conduct. Greenpeace files ACCC complaint over Toyota "greenwashing" That standard must apply especially to a company like Toyota, which is Australia's largest and until now most-trusted car maker. [Extracted from the article]

Black Mountain Energy (BME) has paid almost $40,000 after being accused of making false or misleading sustainability statements. ASIC issued eight infringement notices for alleged greenwashing last year, with deputy chair Sarah Court promising the watchdog will "continue to closely monitor sustainability claims and take action where we consider representations cannot be substantiated or are factually incorrect. BME received three infringement notices from ASIC over statements it made to the ASX between 2021 and 2022. [Extracted from the article]

"Investors can feel strongly about not investing in tobacco production, manufacturing and sales, and where tobacco-exclusion investments are promoted, the entity making those claims must be able to substantiate the full exclusion of those investments", says ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court. ASIC recently issued three infringement notices to Vanguard Investments Australia for engaging in "greenwashing". The problem was the product disclosure statement for one of Vanguard's funds, which claimed to rule out investment in companies involved in significant tobacco sales. [Extracted from the article]

ASIC and the ACCC says addressing greenwashing is a priority area for them, and ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court says more action is likely to come. ASIC has taken its first compliance action over greenwashing, against Tlou Energy Limited. [Extracted from the article]