Australian market regulators cracking down on greenwashing
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On 27 October 2022, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced that it had taken its first formal action against an entity involved in greenwashing.
The entity in question, ASX listed Tlou Energy Limited (Tlou), was said to have made false and misleading statements to the market in relation to the ecological impact of its energy producing activities. Tlou was issued four infringement notices and paid $53,280 in fines.
This enforcement action follows a suite of public announcements made by ASIC and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) regarding the regulatory bodies’ intent to crack down on misleading claims regarding greenwashing.
As a reminder, greenwashing involves the misrepresenting of the extent to which a company, product, service or investment strategy is environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical.
ASIC and the ACCC have the power to commence action against entities that:
- engage in conduct that is misleading, deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive; or
- make false or misleading representations,
with respect to greenwashing under the and the ASIC Act [1] (for the supply of financial services or financial products) and the Australian…
