The corporate regulator has flagged a fresh wave of enforcement action against listed companies and fund managers over misleading sustainability claims, as scrutiny of greenwashing intensifies.
ASIC said several product disclosure statements reviewed this year overstated the extent to which underlying holdings met stated environmental criteria, with a handful of cases already referred for further investigation.
“Boards need to treat sustainability claims with the same rigour as financial disclosures — the bar has clearly moved,” one governance lawyer said.
Fund managers are understood to be reviewing marketing material ahead of the next disclosure cycle to avoid becoming test cases.