<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/corporate-watchdog-fines-major-super-fund-for-greenwashing/>
"Superannuation giant HESTA has been fined for alleged misleading
advertisements about its carbon emissions investments.
The super fund has paid $37,560 for two infringements issued by the financial
regulator over greenwashing claims.
HESTA placed paid ads on Google and Bing between April 2021 and December 2024,
claiming it “is committed to remove all investment in carbon emissions by
2050”.
People who clicked on the link were taken to the fund’s “why join” page on its
website.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission fined the organisation
over concerns the ads indicated HESTA planned to remove all investments in
carbon emissions by 2050, despite that not being the case.
The retirement fund’s target was to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across
its investment portfolio by 2050, which is different to removing all
investments in carbon as net zero can be reached through offsetting.
The investment service, which is the primary super fund for health and
community services workers, has more than 1.05 million members and manages
almost $100 billion in assets.
HESTA overstated its commitment to reducing investment in carbon emissions when
it made those online representations, ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said.
“Consumers relying on HESTA’s representation may have been denied the
opportunity to make informed decisions about their preferred superannuation
provider when HESTA gave a false impression that its commitment to reducing
carbon emissions was more ambitious than it actually was,” she said.
The fund self-reported the incident to the regulator and paid the fines in
November.
Payment of an infringement notice is not an admission of guilt or liability.
A HESTA spokesperson has apologised to members and partners for “falling short”
of their high standards and said the incident was isolated to this online
advertising and “made in error”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
