Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Lobbying, PR and greenwashing · Australia · 2024–2025

Mercer fined A$11.3m over 'sustainable' fund; Vanguard and Active Super also penalised

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

Australian regulators and courts penalised Mercer, Vanguard and Active Super over ESG fund claims, at A$10.5m to A$12.9m each. The sources reviewed also list US and German fines against DWS and Invesco.

What?
Mercer (A$11.3m), Vanguard (A$12.9m) and Active Super (A$10.5m) were penalised in Australia over fund claims about ESG screening. ASIC
Where?
Australia; the US and Germany for the DWS and Invesco fines.
When?
Penalties in 2024; German DWS fine in 2025.
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Penalties over fund marketing claims about ESG screening.
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who

What happened

The record, in order.

ASIC said it won an A$11.3m penalty against Mercer Super over its 'Sustainable Plus' fund, which the sources reviewed say held coal and mining companies.

The Lawyer Magazine reported that the Federal Court in 2024 ordered Vanguard to pay A$12.9m over an 'ethical' fund in which about 74 percent of securities had not been screened.

The sources reviewed also list a A$10.5m penalty against Active Super, US fines of $19m (DWS) and $17.5m (Invesco), and a 25m euro German fine on DWS in 2025.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2024-08Claimant won
      ASIC action against Mercer Super over 'Sustainable Plus' fund
      Federal Court of Australia · Civil · Australian Securities and Investments Commission → Mercer Super

      The Federal Court ordered an A$11.3m penalty over ESG claims about the 'Sustainable Plus' fund, which the sources reviewed say held coal and mining companies. ASIC

    2. 2024Claimant won
      Action over Vanguard 'ethical' fund
      Federal Court of Australia · Civil · Not stated in the sources reviewed → Vanguard

      The Federal Court ordered a A$12.9m penalty over an 'ethical' fund in which about 74 percent of securities had not been screened. The Lawyer Magazine

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed give no source link for the Active Super penalty, and no court is named for it.
    • None on record The DWS and Invesco fines are listed without source links, and the sources reviewed give no dates beyond the ranges noted.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether the penalties changed the holdings of the funds.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Carbon and conservation finance

    ESG
    Environmental, social and governance criteria that investors and insurers use to screen companies and projects.
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