Lobbying, PR and greenwashing
39 cases in 17 countries, 1918–2024. Most cases: United States (18), France (4), United Kingdom (4), Netherlands (3), Australia (3).
Dutch court rules 15 of 19 KLM 'Fly Responsibly' claims misleading
An Amsterdam court found 15 of 19 statements in KLM's 'Fly Responsibly' campaign misleading in March 2024, but imposed no penalty. The ruling bears on sustainable aviation fuel claims, since IATA put SAF at 0.6% of jet fuel in 2025.
Australia penalises Mercer Super and Vanguard over sustainable and ethical fund claims
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.
German top court rules 'climate neutral' claim by Katjes misleading
Germany's Federal Court of Justice ruled in June 2024 that Katjes' 'climate neutral' advertising claim was misleading unless the advertisement explained it. The cited sources do not say whether the advertisement was changed or any penalty was imposed.
Amsterdam votes to ban fossil fuel and meat adverts; Paris court faults TotalEnergies
Amsterdam's council voted 27 to 17 in January 2026 for a fossil fuel advertising ban that also covers meat products. In October 2025 a Paris court found TotalEnergies' claim to be carbon neutral by 2050 misleading.
Mercer fined A$11.3m over 'sustainable' fund; Vanguard and Active Super also penalised
Australian regulators and courts penalised Mercer, Vanguard and Active Super over ESG fund claims, at A$10.5m to A$12.9m each. The cited sources also list US and German fines against DWS and Invesco.
Net Zero Banking Alliance exits and closure
Major banks left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance from December 2024, and its members voted on 3 October 2025 to cease operations. In 2024 it had covered more than 140 banks.
Deutsche Bank's DWS paid penalties in US and Germany over ESG claims
DWS, the asset manager of Deutsche Bank, paid a 19 million dollar US penalty in 2023 and a 25 million euro fine ordered by Frankfurt prosecutors in 2025 over ESG claims. Campaigners report that DWS-managed ESG funds put 8.7 billion euros into fossil-fuel expansion.
UK ad regulator bans HSBC '2 million trees' advert after 45 complaints
The Advertising Standards Authority banned an HSBC advert featuring a '2 million trees' claim in October 2022, after 45 complaints. The sanction was an advert ban, and the cited sources record no fine. For nature, the case concerns tree-based climate claims made by a major bank.
Texas anti-ESG law SB 13 and the states' suit against BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street
In 2021 Texas passed SB 13, which blacklists financial institutions that boycott fossil-fuel companies. In November 2024 Texas and other states sued BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, alleging they coordinated through climate initiatives to curb coal production; Vanguard settled in February 2026 for $29.5 million without admitting wrongdoing.
NYSE natural asset company proposal withdrawn
In 2021 the New York Stock Exchange and Intrinsic Exchange Group announced a new class of listed companies that would hold rights to the ecosystem services of natural areas. The Exchange withdrew its listing proposal on 17 January 2024, after a regulatory review and an objection from 25 state attorneys general.
French regulator fines Monsanto 400,000 euros over lobbying file
France's data protection authority, the CNIL, fined Monsanto 400,000 euros in July 2021 over a lobbying file covering more than 200 journalists, politicians and scientists. The cited sources do not say which policy decisions the file was used for.
The Hague's fossil fuel advertising ban took effect in 2025 after court upheld it
The Hague's ban on fossil fuel, flight, cruise and fossil-fuel car advertising in public spaces took effect on 1 January 2025, and a court upheld it in April 2025. What is at stake for nature is whether public advertising that promotes fossil fuel use can be limited, and France's 2021 law on fossil energy advertising has no implementing decree.
Study estimates Texas anti-ESG bank rules added to municipal borrowing costs
Texas laws that took effect in September 2021 barred banks that restrict fossil fuel and firearms industries from underwriting municipal bonds. A study by Garrett and Ivanov estimated extra interest of 303 to 532 million dollars, which industry-aligned authors dispute.
Earthshot Prize funders, DP World and Edelman Cannes award
DP World is a founding funder of the Earthshot Prize and the client of a campaign that won a Titanium Lion at Cannes in June 2024. The agency, Edelman, is estimated to earn part of its revenue from fossil-fuel clients.
Leonard Leo network and the anti-ESG campaign
A campaign against ESG investing in the United States was funded through a network linked to Leonard Leo, including Consumers' Research, which a 2026 investigation traced largely to DonorsTrust. State officials, model legislation and lawsuits followed between 2021 and 2026.
Greenpeace ends all engagement with APP and Sinar Mas over deforestation links
Greenpeace International said in May 2018 that it was ending all engagement with APP and Sinar Mas over links to deforestation. Clearing and restoration claims about APP and APRIL are unconfirmed.
Ohio HB6 bribery case
Between 2017 and 2020 the utility FirstEnergy paid about $60 million to a group controlled by the Speaker of the Ohio House while a 2019 law subsidising two nuclear plants and supporting coal plants was passed. The Speaker was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
World Bank $800m Uzbekistan operation; Tanzania project halted
The World Bank announced an $800 million policy operation for Uzbekistan in October 2025, while its REGROW project in Tanzania was suspended in April 2024 and cancelled in November 2024. At stake for nature is whether the 1.73 million hectares of forest reported planted in Uzbekistan survive.
EU seal-product ban's Inuit exemption found ineffective
A Nunatsiaq News report found the Inuit exemption to the EU's seal-product ban ineffective.
Greenpeace ends all engagement with APP Sinar Mas over deforestation
Greenpeace International ended its engagement with APP Sinar Mas in 2018 after clearing was found in company-linked concessions. At stake: forest cover, and whether zero-deforestation pledges hold up in practice.
Walmart and New Zealand penalised over 'biodegradable' bag claims
New Zealand's Commerce Commission imposed penalties in 2013 for misleading green claims on plastic bags, and California penalised Walmart USD 875,000 in 2017 over a 'biodegradable' claim. At stake for nature is whether green labels on single-use bags are accurate.
Consumer Goods Forum misses 2020 zero net deforestation pledge
The Consumer Goods Forum, which brings together about 400 large consumer goods companies, pledged in 2010 to achieve zero net deforestation in its supply chains by 2020, and missed it. At stake for forests is whether corporate pledges that lapse are replaced before the loss is measured.
ACCCE clean coal advertising and forged letters (US)
A coal-industry association is reported to have spent heavily on 'clean coal' advertising in 2008, and a subcontractor is reported to have sent forged letters against climate legislation in 2009. No other source confirms these reports.
Sierra Club donations from Chesapeake Energy
From 2007 the Sierra Club received about 26 million dollars from the head of gas producer Chesapeake Energy and associated people for its campaign against coal. The club later refused a further 30 million dollars.
Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics: environmental pledges and the Mzymta valley
The 2014 Winter Games were built partly inside Sochi National Park and along the Mzymta river, with a UNEP advisory role and a 2011 declaration of commitments. Peer-reviewed studies recorded the loss of Black Sea trout spawning grounds along 57 km of the river, and an environmental defender from the group that documented the damage was imprisoned and later released.
US judge finds tobacco firms violated RICO; remedies later cut back
On 17 August 2006 Judge Gladys Kessler found that the tobacco companies had violated the federal racketeering law (RICO) by defrauding the public for about 50 years. A higher court had barred the return of 280 billion dollars in past profits, leaving the companies with corrective statements and costs.
Tobacco groups' diversification into oil, food and shipping
Several large tobacco groups are reported to have owned oil, food, packaging and shipping businesses. The filings reviewed document the board roles of one Loews family member across insurance, pipeline and offshore-drilling companies.
Hill & Knowlton and Edelman: PR for fossil fuel clients and climate summits
Hill & Knowlton handled communications for the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in 2022 while serving oil companies, and more than 420 scientists asked it to drop its fossil fuel clients. Edelman has held a contract with the American Petroleum Institute and won a COP30 contract in Brazil, so the question is which clients these firms serve while shaping public climate messaging.
BP “Beyond Petroleum” campaign and carbon footprint calculator
BP and the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather launched a “Beyond Petroleum” branding campaign in 2000 and a personal carbon footprint calculator in 2004. A researcher says the campaign helped spread the term “carbon footprint” and directed responsibility to individuals; BP says it did not popularise the concept.
TASSC, Tozzi and Milloy: a tobacco-funded 'sound science' campaign
The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC) was set up in 1993 by Philip Morris and the public relations firm APCO. Philip Morris also paid the consultant Jim Tozzi and the Weinberg Group.
Coca-Cola and ILSI: influence on obesity policy in China and India
The International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), founded in 1978 by a Coca-Cola executive, has branches in China and India. A 2019 BMJ study and later reporting describe ILSI's links to health regulators in both countries; ILSI and Coca-Cola dispute the reading that it shaped policy.
Study finds Exxon's internal papers accepted warming; its advertorials cast doubt
Researchers who analyzed 187 Exxon and Mobil documents from 1977 to 2014 found that internal records accepted human-caused warming while paid advertorials expressed doubt. At stake for nature is the timing of public and policy responses to climate change.
India's 1975–77 Emergency sterilisation drive drew a $66 million World Bank loan
Al Jazeera reported that more than 8 million men were sterilised in India during the 1975–77 Emergency, and that about 2,000 people died after failed operations. Sources report a $66 million World Bank loan for sterilisation initiatives; at stake is the record of development finance for coercive population control.
Nine Japanese electric companies spent 2.42 trillion yen on advertising, 1970-2011
John Menadue's article reports a figure of 2.42 trillion yen spent on advertising by nine Japanese electric companies from 1970 to 2011. The stake for nature is how far that advertising shaped public views of energy and the environment, which the cited sources do not measure.
Harrison campaign against Silent Spring and Burson-Marsteller crisis PR
A public-relations executive ran the chemical industry association's campaign against Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962 and later designed the Global Climate Coalition's communications. Burson-Marsteller, now BCW, handled crisis communications and set up grassroots-style groups for several industries.
Non-peer-reviewed study links China's 1958 sparrow campaign to famine deaths
A non-peer-reviewed NBER study links China's 1958 sparrow campaign to crop losses and about 2 million extra deaths. Locust outbreaks followed the sparrow hunt.
Keep America Beautiful founding and Crying Indian ad (US)
Keep America Beautiful was founded in December 1953 by a can maker and a glass-bottle maker. In 1971 its 'Crying Indian' advertisement presented litter as a matter of individual behaviour, while its executives opposed container deposit laws.
Hill & Knowlton, the Frank Statement and the TIRC
A public-relations firm ran the tobacco industry's research committee from 1953 and later worked for oil and plastics-industry clients and for the 2022 COP27 climate summit. The same agency name recurs across industries in the cited sources.
Rats wiped out five endemic birds on Lord Howe Island; 2019 eradication succeeded
Rats are reported to have wiped out five endemic birds on Lord Howe Island in 1918, and the Lord Howe Island Board reports that a 2019 eradication effort succeeded. The cited sources do not give the cost or funding of the work.