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

Australia penalises Mercer Super and Vanguard over sustainable and ethical fund claims

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 insufficient · 1 not measured · 2 unclear See the gaps

Mercer Super's 'Sustainable Plus' fund held coal and mining companies, and 74% of Vanguard's 'ethical' fund was not screened, the sources say. The penalties were AUD 11.3 million and AUD 12.9 million, both in 2024, and the cases test whether sustainability labels matched what funds held.

What?
Australia penalised Mercer Super AUD 11.3 million over a 'sustainable' fund that held coal and mining companies. ASIC
Where?
Australia ASIC
When?
2024 ASIC
Who?
Gained
  • Coal and mining companies held in the Mercer Super fund — were among the holdings of the fund labelled sustainable ASIC
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court after the regulator's action on fund sustainability labels. ASIC
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said Mercer Super's 'Sustainable Plus' fund held coal and mining companies, and described the case as its first greenwashing case (ASIC, 2024).

A penalty of AUD 11.3 million was imposed on Mercer Super in 2024 (ASIC, 2024).

The Lawyer Magazine reported a AUD 12.9 million penalty against Vanguard Australia in 2024, after the court found that 74% of its 'ethical' fund had not been screened.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2024Outcome not on record
      ASIC greenwashing penalty against Mercer Super
      Federal Court of Australia · Civil · Australian Securities and Investments Commission → Mercer Super

      Federal Court penalty of AUD 11.3 million over the 'Sustainable Plus' fund. The sources do not give the grounds in full. ASIC

    2. 2024Outcome not on record
      Penalty against Vanguard Australia over 'ethical' fund
      Federal Court of Australia · Civil · → Vanguard Australia

      Federal Court penalty of AUD 12.9 million; the court found 74% of the 'ethical' fund 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.

    Court

    • Unclear ASIC greenwashing penalty against Mercer Super: outcome not on record.
    • Unclear Penalty against Vanguard Australia over 'ethical' fund: outcome not on record.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: a 2024 Super Review report of the Mercer penalty.
    • None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: whether either penalty was appealed or paid.
    • None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: who received any gains from the holdings, or whether fund members lost money.
    • None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: the claimant in the Vanguard case.

    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.
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