ASIC is turning up the heat on corporate greenwashing.Credit:Jessica Shapiro
The infringements represent the first time the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has taken action overgreenwashing,a term which refers to misleading or misrepresenting the extent to which something is environmentally friendly,sustainable or ethical.
The regulator announced a crackdown on greenwashing as part of its priorities earlier this year as consumers shift towards greener options. It warned on Thursday that other listed companies,super funds and managed funds were also being investigated over their green claims.
ASIC said four statements made by Tlou Energy to the ASX in October last year claimed that electricity produced by Tlou would be carbon neutral;that the company had environment approval and capability to generate some electricity from solar power;and that its gas-to-power project would be “low emissions”.
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The statements also claimed that the company was equally concerned with producing “clean energy” through the use of renewable sources as it was with developing its gas-to-power project,ASIC alleges.
“ASIC was concerned that Tlou either did not have a reasonable basis to make the representations,or that the representations were factually incorrect,” the regulator said in a statement on Thursday.
The infringement notices were paid on October 25,and the regulator stressed that the payment did not represent an admission of guilt or liability. Tlou Energy,which is developing gas-fired power,solar and hydrogen projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and Botswana,has been contacted for comment. The company was founded in 2009 and has a market capitalisation of $15 million.