A group representing Australian parents has taken EnergyAustralia to court for allegedly misleading over 400,000 consumers by marketings a product involving a carbon offset scheme as ‘carbon neutral’.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has released guidelines to help businesses avoid greenwashing and greenhushing, calling on general counsel to avoid broad terms like ‘sustainable’ and ensure businesses have research to back up green claims.
ASIC has brought enforcement action against Vanguard Investments Australia, accusing the investment firm of misleading claims that its ethically conscious hedge fund screened securities for their environmental, social and good governance bona fides.
A court has set aside former Federal Minister for Resources Keith Pitt’s decision to develop a nuclear waste facility in Napandee in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, saying a fair-minded observer may have perceived that Pitt was biased in selecting the site over two other proposed locations.
A court has found that residents living near an allegedly loud and foul-smelling Graincorp oilseed factory in rural Victoria can band together to bring a class action suit.
A judge has rejected TPG-owned Anew Climate’s bid for default judgment against an Australian company that allegedly impersonated a US carbon offset developer in order to unlawfully receive payments under a $1 billion deal, saying “it’s not hard” to make the application under the correct rule.
A landmark case brought by a shareholder advocacy group accusing Santos of greenwashing will seek to argue the energy company misled the market by presenting its carbon offset programs as plans to reduce emissions.
A judge whose landmark rulings in climate change litigation have been hailed by environmental groups has been chosen to lead Australia’s peak law reform body.
A judge overseeing a $192.5 million settlement in an oil spill class action against PTTEP Australia on behalf of Indonesian seaweed farmers has balked at the “very large” costs sought by Maurice Blackburn for administering the deal, expressing concerns that class action costs are “getting out of control”.
Climate justice groups have launched a challenge to federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek’s decision to expand two proposed mega coal mines in NSW, arguing her refusal to accept the scientific evidence of climate risk was irrational and unlawful.