Santos accused of making misleading statements on net zero targets in greenwashing case
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The news: The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) took aim at the language Santos used to describe its climate targets in the first day of the activist group's long-running lawsuit against the energy giant.
The context: Lawyers for the shareholder activist group have alleged the company told investors it had a plan to achieve "net zero" emissions by 2040, with no way to justify its statements.
The ACCR has alleged Santos has breached the Corporations Act and Australian Consumer Law by making allegedly misleading statements in a climate change report in 2021, a 2020 Investor Day Briefing and 2020 Annual Report.
The ACCR has said this is the first case of its kind to challenge the veracity of a company's net zero emissions plan.
The hearings are expected to last for three weeks and witness examination will begin on Tuesday.
What they said: Appearing before Federal Court of Australia Judge Brigitte Markovic on behalf of the ACCR on Monday, Noel Hutley SC said that "according to Santos, no reasonable investor would have understood Santos to be promising" the targets set out in its roadmap.
"Your Honour will search in vain in announcements to the public for any clarifications to justify the statements made at the time," he said.
Hutley pointed out that Santos was trying to move beyond saying their targets were merely aspirational and that the company "went out of its way not to use possibility" in its plans.
Santos barrister Neil Young KC told the court the targets for Santos to achieve its emissions goals by 2040 were targets and "not promises to achieve those outcomes".
The source: Federal Court of Australia
