As the world continues its shift towards a low carbon economy and businesses seek to meet the expectations of potential investors, shareholders and customers, regulators continue to watch closely to ensure that claims are truthful and not misleading as to the true extent of sustainability or 'green' claims. Regulatory focus will always be on consumer detriment. However, beyond this, representations in all aspects of business are clearly in the spotlight where 'green' or sustainable business operations or investment can be a point of competitive positioning in the market.
The enforcers' focus
Australia
Greenwashing enforcement in Australia sits at the intersection of corporate, consumer, and financial regulation, with both the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) overseeing this space. Since 2022, the ACCC and ASIC have included in their enforcement priorities greenwashing and sustainability as corporations increasingly compete on sustainability and green offerings.
The ACCC's focus on enforcement commenced in 2018 with its greenwashing claims against Woolworths over its 'eco' products, followed by two internet sweeps in 2022 (reporting its findings in "Greenwashing by businesses in Australia"). It has since released Greenwashing Guidelines and Guidance on Making Environmental and Sustainability Claims and the Sustainability Collaborations Guidelines to provide guidance for consumers and companies regarding sustainable practices, claims, and collaborations with other businesses. Earlier this year, the ACCC reinforced environmental claims and sustainability as a priority area for investigation in its enforcement and compliance priorities.
Globally
The focus on greenwashing is global. Regimes continue to focus their efforts on combating misleading or false assertions surrounding sustainability and 'green' claims. The laws differ by regime, but the underlying principles of action taken around claims that are false or misleading are common. However, the nuance in approaches means that a one size fits all approach is insufficient to provide appropriate protection against claims of greenwashing.
The current state of play across Asia-Pacific and globally is detailed in the White & Case Global Antitrust Sustainability Heatmap.
"Claiming to be 'green' and sustainable has become a competitiveness factor"1
Consumers and investors are increasingly placing weight on environmental and sustainability factors in buying and investment decisions. This means that regulators and enforcers across the globe will continue to take legal action where representations by business shift the level playing field that creates competitive tension.
Energy sector exposure
As businesses operating in the energy sector are at the forefront of the transition to a low carbon economy, claims about operations, technology, emissions, carbon credits, policies, investments, forecasts, credentials and any representations that have a 'green' or sustainability element must be able to be substantiated or have reasonable grounds on which to support claims or statements made.
On 26 June 2025, the ACCC commenced Federal Court proceedings against Australian Gas Networks alleging its promotion indicating the gas it distributes to households on its network will be renewable within a generation was false and misleading and it did not have reasonable grounds for making this claim.2
This is a very public example of green claims made to consumers. However, any marketing materials, proposal documents, pitches, annual reports or any communications in writing or communicated verbally to any other person or business are a point of greenwashing exposure. There must be a reasonable basis for making a statement, usually backed by evidence or data, and that data must not be inconsistent with the current position of operations. For example, a company states in its prospectus that its equipment has the capacity to capture 95% of emissions but it is currently only capturing 70% of emissions. This may be misleading as to the operations of the business and its sustainable operations. All statements should be made with a defensible position.
Financial and banking sector exposure
ASIC, the Australian financial services regulator, has won three matters in court, each with penalties in excess of $10 million for misleading or false claims surrounding environmental social and governance screens applied to a fund, claims as to fossil fuels exclusions to investors and potential investors, and investments in securities that were claimed to be eliminated or restricted by ESG investment screens.3
The focus by the regulator on ensuring that financial decisions are made on the basis of clear, truthful information is also evident through its issuing of fines using its infringement notice powers and requirements for corrective disclosures and other remedial measures. Greenwashing continues to be a priority of ASIC in its 2025 enforcement priorities and it has released to industry specific examples of misleading ESG disclosures and how to avoid them.4 Sustainability reporting requirements under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) can also create pressure points for corporations and can give rise to greenwashing actions by ASIC.
Consumer and retail exposure
Looking locally, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, among other global consumer protection authorities that make up the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) issued a joint open letter to the fashion retail sector on environmental claims in April 2025. The letter recognised that although laws may vary between jurisdictions, equivalent underlying principles apply to making environmental claims.
Claims in the consumer and retail industry include 'sustainable,' 'conscious choice', 'recycled', 'carbon neutral', 'sustainably sourced' and other 'green' claims. Ensuring that there is a clear and identifiable basis for any statement, including having supply chain visibility is paramount.
For further details on the latest developments in the fashion industry see our recent update on "Greenwashing risk and the fashion industry: a snapshot of legal developments".
Key takeaways
Businesses should be aware of the risks that can arise from unsubstantiated or overly broad 'green' or sustainable representations to any person – consumers and other businesses. Penalties can be high and the reputational risk can be even higher.
To mitigate these risks, companies must:
- ensure that claims are truthful, clear and accurate
- the claim is only made where there is sufficient evidence to substantiate the claim
- avoid using vague and general claims, such as 'eco-friendly', 'green' or 'sustainable'
- not use unsubstantiated claims about future aspirations or projections
- align marketing with actual investment or operational practices
Companies should ensure that internal compliance procedures are in place. These policies should provide a clear process to ensure appropriate checks on the validity of information and the ability to substantiate claims to mitigate against enforcement risk. Being able to demonstrate that there are reasonable grounds on which to support a statement or view to potential customers, investors or other businesses is critical to mitigating greenwashing risk.
1 https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-11312-2024-INIT/en/pdf
2 Australian Gas Networks in Court over alleged greenwashing in renewable gas campaign | ACCC
3 The Australian Consumer Law applies to these claims, with equivalent legislation in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)
4 How to avoid greenwashing when offering or promoting sustainability-related products
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This article is prepared for the general information of interested persons. It is not, and does not attempt to be, comprehensive in nature. Due to the general nature of its content, it should not be regarded as legal advice.
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