Australia’s corporate watchdog has investigated more than 100 companies under a drive to flush out greenwashing in the managed funds sector, and warned it plans to step up scrutiny of the issue.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission launched a first legal case this year against pension fund Mercer Superannuation Australia Ltd., and issued 11 infringement notices and agreed on 23 corrective actions in the nine months through March, according to a report Wednesday.
ASIC reviewed disclosure statements from 122 funds and examined investment processes, advertising, websites and misconduct complaints for evidence of the misleading use of terms including ‘carbon neutral’, ‘clean’ or ‘green’, the report said.
“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,” ASIC’s Deputy Chair Karen Chester said in a statement. “We have ongoing surveillances and several investigations underway and anticipate further regulatory action.”
Regulators globally are sharpening their focus on companies making claims about investments sold with environmental, social and governance credentials, particularly with investors relying on the pledges to meet net zero targets. The UK has warned funds must improve reporting of ESG-related data, while officials at the European Securities & Markets Authority are also focused on a “very widespread” risk of so-called greenwashing by money managers, Executive Director Natasha Cazenave said Tuesday.
In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission has also proposed stricter rules. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. last year agreed to pay $4 million to settle regulators’ claims that its asset-management unit didn’t properly weigh ESG factors in some investment products.
ASIC’s actions since July include infringement notices against Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd. in relation to alleged misleading statements about funds excluding companies tied to tobacco sales, and another issued to Tlou Energy Ltd. over claims that it would produce carbon neutral electricity.
