Active Super loses greenwashing court battle
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The news: Active Super has lost its greenwashing court battle, with Federal Court of Australia Judge David O'Callaghan saying today that the superannuation fund misled customers by making misrepresentations.
The context: Despite saying it was committed to ethical and sustainable investments, O'Callaghan found Active Super breached the Corporations Act by making false or misleading claims over investments linked to the gambling and coal mining industries during the period 1 February, 2021, to 30 June, 2023.
The fund was also found to have made false or misleading claims from May 2022 when it said it would divest of Russian investments after the country's invasion of Ukraine. The court found the super fund was still invested in Russian companies Gazprom PJSC and Rosneft Oil Company by 30 June 2023.
However, Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC's) allegations of breaches of the ASIC Act relating to its tobacco and specific representations in their socially responsible investing policy about investments in Russia and oil tar sands were dismissed.
The case will proceed to a penalty hearing on a yet to be determined date.
ASIC announced its lawsuit against Active Super in August 2023, alleging misrepresentations were made on Active Super’s website, disclosure documents and on social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
At the time, it was ASIC's third greenwashing civil penalty case.
The source: Federal Court of Australia
