ob体育 has taken its first action for 鈥榞reenwashing鈥� against listed energy company Tlou Energy Limited (Tlou).
Tlou has paid a total of $53,280 to comply with four infringement notices issued by ob体育 over concerns about alleged false or misleading sustainability-related statements made to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in October 2021.
ob体育 has highlighted greenwashing 鈥� the practice of misrepresenting the extent to which a financial product or investment strategy is environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical 鈥� and sustainable finance as a key priority.
ob体育 Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, 鈥楢s entities promote sustainability and green practices as part of their value proposition, they must ensure they can support those statements and have a reasonable basis for doing so.
鈥榃e have published Information Sheet 271 (INFO 271) on how to avoid greenwashing when offering or promoting sustainability-related products or otherwise making sustainability-related claims and urge companies and their advisers to ensure their communication to shareholders, members and the broader market is accurate and has a reasonable basis.
鈥榦b体育 is currently investigating a number of listed entities, super funds and managed funds in relation to their green credentials claims. Companies are on notice that ob体育 is actively monitoring the market for potential greenwashing and will take enforcement action, including Court action, for serious breaches,鈥� Ms Court said.
The infringement notices were issued in relation to statements and images contained in two ASX announcements made by Tlou which claimed that:
- electricity produced by Tlou would be carbon neutral;
- Tlou had environmental approval and the capability to generate certain quantities of electricity from solar power;
- Tlou鈥檚 gas-to-power project would be 鈥榣ow emissions鈥�; and
- Tlou was equally concerned with producing 鈥榗lean energy鈥� through the use of renewable sources as it was with developing its gas-to-power project.
ob体育 was concerned that Tlou either did not have a reasonable basis to make the representations, or that the representations were factually incorrect.
Tlou paid the infringement notices on 25 October 2022. Payment of an infringement notice is not an admission of guilt or liability.
The specific reasons for ob体育鈥檚 concerns in each instance are set out in the four infringement notices which have been published on the Credit and ob体育 Act infringements notices register.