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Australian Watchdog Issues Another Fine For Greenwashing

By  |  January 11, 2023

Australia has picked up where it left off by issuing a fine against a listed company for greenwashing only a few months after the securities regulator announced the first infringement notice for the practice.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said last week that Black Mountain Energy, an ASX-listed resources company, paid A$39,960 ($27,592.2) to comply with three infringement notices in relation to concerns about alleged false or misleading sustainability-related statements made to the stock exchange between 23 December 2021 and 8 September 2022.

Related: Australia’s Watchdog Greenwashing Businesses

The penalties were in relation to statements made by Black Mountain Energy in three ASX announcements in which it said that it was creating a natural gas development project with ‘net-zero carbon emissions’ and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with Project Valhalla would be net zero.