ASIC has announced that it has commenced the first civil penalty proceedings against alleged greenwashing conduct in the Federal Court of Australia against Mercer Superannuation (Australia) Limited, for allegedly making misleading statements about the sustainable nature and characteristics of some of its superannuation investment options.

ASIC alleges that Mercer made statements on its website about seven ‘Sustainable Plus’ investment options offered by the Mercer Super Trust (of which Mercer is the trustee), marketing such options as suitable for members who “are deeply committed to sustainability” because they excluded investments in companies involved in carbon-intensive fossil fuels, alcohol production and gambling.

However, ASIC alleges that members who took up the Sustainable Plus options had investments in companies involved in industries Mercer’s website had said were excluded, such as 15 companies involved in the extraction or sale of carbon-intensive fossil fuels, 15 companies involved in the production of alcohol, and 19 companies involved in gambling.

ASIC’s Information Sheet 271 (INFO 271) provides information for responsible entities of managed funds and super fund trustees about how to avoid greenwashing when offering or promoting sustainability-related or ethical products and investments.

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