On 25 August, 2022, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (“ACCR”) expanded its case against the Australian gas company, Santos Ltd. (“Santos”), with new and more detailed allegations around greenwashing.
Last year, ACCR filed a consumer protection lawsuit with the Federal Court of Australia regarding certain misleading or deceptive statements Santos
On 3 August 2022, Australia’s Financial Services Council (“FSC“) published FSC Guidance Note No 44 Climate Risk Disclosure in Investment Management (“Guidance Note”) to provide a set of common baseline expectations for the investment management industry’s approach with respect to net-zero commitments, disclosure of climate-friendly investment features and climate change risk reporting. Continue Reading Australia’s Financial Services Council issues new guidelines on climate risk disclosure for asset managers
In May we published a legal update on the recent Australian federal election (here) and what a new Labor government may mean for the renewables industry in Australia. The note highlighted that no specific legislation was planned for hydrogen.
Australia’s states have been more active in trying to jump on the hydrogen bandwagon.
On 1 January 2019, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (MSA 2018) came into force in Australia. The MSA 2018 requires entities based or operating in Australia with an annual consolidated revenue of more than 100 million AUS dollars to report annually on the risks of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains, and the actions taken to address those risks. The requirements of the MSA 2018 reflect increasing and strengthening modern slavery obligations around the world (see, for example, our previous Blog Post and earlier Legal Update).
The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) has published a report (the Report) evaluating the quality and compliance of reporting by companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX200) during the first reporting cycle under the MSA 2018. The report sets out a number of recommendations, including how companies can improve their disclosures and how investors can exert their influence to encourage best practice in modern slavery reporting. Although the recommendations are focused on the ASX200 and the MSA 2018, the Report’s findings are of broader relevance to best practice reporting beyond Australia – and will be of interest to all stakeholders concerned with modern slavery reporting and emerging mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation.Continue Reading Business and Human Rights – Reinforcing Modern Slavery Reporting – Lessons from Australia
On August 25, 2021, the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), acting on behalf of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), filed a consumer protection lawsuit with the Federal Court of Australia in respect of certain ESG related statements made in a gas company’s 2020 Annual Report (the Report).
This is the first lawsuit in the world that challenges the veracity of a company’s net zero emissions target, and in relation to the viability of carbon capture and storage and the environmental impacts of hydrogen as an energy source, increasingly touted as the key elements in gas companies’ pathways toward net zero emissions.Continue Reading World-first Lawsuit Over Clean Energy and Zero Emissions Claims