September's Greenwashing News

We started Little Green Myths to address the confusing issues of greenwashing. Every day we are bombarded with statements on the top things we can do to save the earth. But often these statements are veiled behind false advertising (learn about how the plastic industry tricked us in the 1950s and 1960s).

Today we are bringing you some of the most horrendous greenwashing cases in September 2024, and actions being take to find the truth.

Shein Might Not Be So Shiny

Italy is investigating the possibility of greenwashing at Shein. Italy's Competition Authority claims that Shein’s website is trying to “convey an image of production and commercial sustainability of its garments through generic, vague, confusing and/or misleading environmental claims.”

The Authority is also taking a look at Shein's decarbonization targets. Shein pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across its entire value chain by 25 percent by 2030,. But Shein’s output has nearly doubled from 9.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2022 to 16.7 million metric tons last year, according to the company’s 2023 sustainability and social impact report.

Industry Continues to Shy Away From Canada's Greenwashing Laws

Canada just finished the comment period for the revisions to the Competition Act, introducing new greenwashing provisions to enhance the accountability of businesses making environmental claims. This was part of a large Omnibus bill, C-59. In June 2024, amendments to the Competition Act established stronger legal prohibitions against businesses making false or misleading green claims.

Companies must now substantiate claims made to the public about the benefit of a product, business, or business activity related to protecting or restoring the environment or mitigating the environmental, ecological, and social (for product claims only) causes or effects of climate change. Those who cannot back up their claims will face stiff penalties.  

The Competition Act allows for penalties of up to three per cent of a firm’s annual gross global revenues if they are found to be making misleading claims. More importantly, citizens can now make claims on greenwashing by companies starting June 20, 2025.

Interestingly, C-59 also included tax credits for carbon capture and storage (CCS) - much like the U.S.'s Inflation Reduction Act. While the energy industry should be happy about this news, some claim "C-59 also served to kneecap how industries can communicate their plans for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050."

As a result the Pathways Alliance — Canada’s largest oilsands producers that are pursuing one of the world’s largest CCS projects removed most references to sustainability - an effort called "greenhushing." However, we know that CCS is a mixed bag for climate action - depending on oil and gas infrastructure to capture carbon, all the while knowing swift action is needed to recuce CO2.

But the public is ready for change. A September 2024 survey conducted by the Angus Reid Forum and commissioned by Greenpeace Canada found that 93% of Canadians believe companies should face penalties for making environmental claims that they can’t prove are true. 

Taiwan's New Greenwashing Regulations

The Ministry of Environment released a set of operational guidelines for corporations to declare carbon neutrality.

Under the new guidelines, corporations are encouraged to declare carbon neutrality on their products, services, or organizations, "to avoid circumstances under which they could make false declarations or mislead the public without revealing adequate information."

The guidelines are based on existing international standards such as the ISO14068-1 and Greenhouse Gas Protocol. There are three steps:

1. Calculation of a corporation's carbon emissions, or the products and services for which it wants to declare carbon neutrality.
2. Make public the corporation's science-based decarbonization pathway and how much resulting reduction it has achieved, with verification from an independent certification agency.
3. Accredited carbon credits will be used to offset emissions, if steps 1 and 2 are met.

The regulation also includes a carbon fee for power and manufacturing industries that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission Sues Vanguard for Greenwashing

Over the last year, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has led 47 cases where companies were claiming environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials to bring in business, while secretly investing in prohibited areas such as fossil fuels. 

In August 2024, ASIC's lawsuit led to Mercer Superannuation's $11.3 million fine for including alcohol, gambling and fossil fuels in its 'Sustainable Plus' investment options, which it marketed to members who were "deeply committed to sustainability".

Now Vanguard's Ethically Conscious Global Aggregate Bond is the next victim getting hit with a $12.9 million penalty. Around 74% of the securities by market value were not researched or screened at all, meaning Vanguard was calling them ethically conscious without bothering to check.

Vanguard admitted it misled investors that these funds would be screened to exclude bond issuers with significant business activities in certain industries, including fossil fuels, when this was not always the case.

Nasdaq’s Net Zero Pulse: More Than Half of Carbon Buyers Like Nature-Based Strategies

Nasdaq’s Survey Report: 2024 Global Net Zero Pulse polls corporate carbon credit buyers who report how they see the market for durable carbon removal credits and how it has changed over the past year.

Many are focused on meeting the requirements of recent regulations.

72% of survey respondents report feeling pressure from this suite of policies, especially the SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules and California’s AB-1305

93% of carbon credit buyer respondents reported their company has a carbon credit strategy in place. In line with last year’s survey findings, strategies that focus on carbon removal credits are favored by respondents from larger companies, whereas smaller companies are more likely to have strategies that focus on carbon reduction or avoidance credits.

57% said they planned to invest in nature-based and technology-based carbon removal solutions to neutralize their residual emissions, and less than 10% expected to reach net zero without using any carbon credits. Not surprisingly, most were familiar with planting trees as a strategy but direct air capture (DAC) has gained ground, while more obscure ideas like enhanced rock weathering are less familiar - maybe geologists need science communication support.

Tyson Foods Sued for Greenwashing its Meats

Environmental Working Group (EWG) accused of Tyson foods of “capitalising on consumers’ interest in purchasing climate-friendly foods by falsely claiming it will be net-zero by 2050 and marketing its industrial beef products as ‘climate-smart’”. As noted by EWG in their lawsuit.

Industrial beef has a larger climate footprint than any other major food product. Tyson, which produces about 20% of US. beef, chicken and pork, has GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions that exceed those of Austria or Greece. Its beef production is responsible for 85% of the company’s emissions.

Yet Tyson Foods has said since 2021 that it would hit net-zero emissions. Tyson also sells a brand of "climate-friendly" beef that Tyson says is made with 10% fewer emissions than conventional meat.

Tyson’s 2022 annual revenues exceed $53bn and yet its spending on GHG reduction practices is less than $50m, which amounts to less than 0.1% of its revenue.