Special Year End Edition - Issue 7 Little Green Myths

Welcome to Issue 7 of Little Green Myths. Today we are sharing 2024’s ESG Naughty and Nice List.

Comment if we missed any and please share with your friends.

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Santa’s Naughty List

2024 has been the year of greenwashing cases and new ESG policies and 2025 will likely continue this trend. Sadly this may also result in more cases of greenhushing, where companies are less likely to discuss or advertise ESG goals.

ESG risk incidents linked to misleading communication on climate change, GHG emissions, and global pollution were highest among the oil and gas (19%), banking (15%), and airline industries (10%).

In 2024, greenwashing incidents continue to be highest in Europe and North America, followed by Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.

So, let’s dive into who made Santa’s ESG naughty and nice list in 2024. If I missed any please contact us, or even write a feature article on our site.

#1 Fight Against “Woke” Policies

In what the Republicans have called “Woke” policies, states have taken broad efforts to block ESG. Many have been unsuccessful, but a coordinated effort is showing more and more anti-ESG policies and resolutions seeing approval, resulting in more greenwashing.

Anti-ESG lawmaking efforts, which first emerged as a trend in 2021, reached new heights this year with over 150 anti-ESG bills and resolutions introduced in 37 states.

#2 States’s Fight Against Big Oil

A growing body of evidence shows that Big Oil knew about the climate dangers of its products but promoted them to the public anyway.

In May 2024 Vermont became the first state in the nation to require Big Oil—extractors, refiners, and producers—to pay for past damages that had contributed to climate change, damages they were responsible for. Under the new law, any company that pumped more than one billion metric tons of greenhouse emissions globally between 1995 and this year will be assessed a payment according to its respective share of emissions.

In June 2024, the California Attorney General filed an amended complaint in an ongoing lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP and the American Petroleum Institute. The amended complaint presents new evidence of false advertising and greenwashing, and aims to compel the companies to forfeit profits gained from these alleged practices.

Maine in December became the latest state to sue major oil companies to reduce greenwashing. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey in the lawsuit, sought to hold Exxon, Shell, BP, Chevron, Sunoco, and the American Petroleum Institute responsible for the potentially catastrophic consequences global warming could have on the state's communities and fishing and tourism industries. The lawsuit accuses the companies of creating a public and private nuisance and asserted additional state law claims of failure to warn and negligence trespass. It also accuses them of violating the state's consumer protection law.

But Big Oil will not go quietly into the night. According to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, 45 states have considered new anti-protest legislation since 2017, with 22 critical infrastructure bills enacted in states including Wisconsin, North Dakota, Missouri, Arkansas, Florida and Louisiana.

#3 Airlines and Cruise Lines Miscommunicate Environmental Benefits

In March 2024, the Amsterdam District Court found that KLM misled consumers with several environmental claims, ruling that 15 out of 19 statements assessed were misleading and greenwashing.

In April, the European Commission and EU consumer authorities (Network of Consumer Protection Cooperation - CPC - Authorities) followed this and sent letters to 20 airlines identifying several types of potentially misleading greenwashing claims. They focused on claims made by airlines that the CO2 emissions caused by a flight could be offset by climate projects or through the use of sustainable fuels, to which the consumers could contribute by paying additional fees. The authorities are concerned that the identified practices can be considered as misleading actions/omissions, prohibited under Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.

The Friends of the Earth Cruise Ship Report Card marks massive pollution and constant greenwashing from cruise industry. Friends of the Earth's latest Cruise Ship Report Card measured the impacts of 21 cruise lines in four categories: air pollution reduction, water quality and use of scrubbers, sewage treatment and transparency.

#4 Investment Companies Mislead ESG Consumers

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) hit Vanguard's Ethically Conscious Global Aggregate Bond 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.

ClientEarth filed a letter of complaint against investment giant BlackRock to the to the French financial regulator - the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), accusing the firm of greenwashing. They believe that BlackRock is greenwashing – investment funds the company is calling 'sustainable' really aren’t. BlackRock manages hundreds of investment funds in its portfolio, and a segment of these are marketed as “sustainable”. However, many of these “sustainable” funds have invested over a billion in fossil fuel companies, the vast majority of which are developing new projects or capacity. This includes the likes of TotalEnergies, Shell, BP, Chevron, Conoco Phillips and Equinor.

New York-based investment adviser WisdomTree Asset Management agreed to pay $4 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges that it misleadingly marketed three funds as having an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment strategy.

Invesco settled SEC greenwashing charge of $17.5M USD. SEC alleged that Invesco violated securities regulations by misleading investors about the share of its assets under management (AUM) that integrated ESG factors into investment decisions. SEC stated "Invesco saw commercial value in claiming that a high percentage of company-wide assets were ESG integrated. But saying it doesn’t make it so."

#5 Energy Companies Dig Themselves Into a Hole

We've talked about the role of the advertising industry in greenwashing. According to Adweek, more than 70 people have filed complaints with ad watchdog the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority claiming a recent Shell ad is guilty of greenwashing.

The TV ad, part of a years-long strategy and campaign called “Powering Progress,” was created by creative agency VML, whose work for the oil firm has previously come under fire from the ASA. These recent complaints argue that the ad gives a misleading impression of Shell’s environmental impact, the ASA said.

The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) moved forward in greenwashing case against Australian LNG producer Santos’ net-zero emissions plan. This is the world’s first ever court case to challenge the legitimacy of a company’s net zero emissions plan.

In a first for a City/Town Council, the Town of Carrboro sued Duke Energy over delayed transition away from fossil fuels, greenwashing. According to the complaint, Duke Energy is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gasses in the country. The lawsuit states that extreme temperatures, precipitation and storms caused by climate change will require the Town to invest millions of dollars in road maintenance, buildings and other infrastructure.

#6 Packaging Failures

After 2 years, Coca-Cola’s promise to scale up reusable packaging as part of its ESG goals is dead. Coca-Cola makes a lot of plastic packaging: about 3.5 million metric tons of it per year, almost entirely out of fossil fuels. For six years running, Coca-Cola has been named the “top global plastic polluter,” based on beach cleanups coordinated by the nonprofit Break Free From Plastic. Coca-Cola has now pulled back on recent pledges to reduce plastic use.

South Australian yogurt manufacturer MOO Premium Foods has agreed to stop using the term “100% ocean plastics” after an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found the company’s use of the term was misleading.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has commenced legal proceedings against Chlorox. The ACCC’s case is that the packaging wrapper for Glad Bags contained environmental claims that “the bags comprised 50 per cent recycled ‘ocean plastic’ collected from an ocean or sea”, which are false or misleading in breach of the Australian Consumer Law, because they were made without reasonable grounds.

#7 Data Centers are in Conflict with ESG Policies

The battle between data centers and the environment have been prominent in 2024, including the claim that bumblebees shut down Meta’s data center.

A recent Goldman Sachs report that predicted data center power demands will grow by 160 percent by the end of the decade. Meta and many other tech companies continue to face energy crunches thanks to their recent AI investments. A single AI-integrated search query, for example, is estimated to require up to 10 times the energy of a standard Google search—equivalent to keeping one light bulb on for 20 minutes.

Earlier this year, Microsoft confirmed its greenhouse gas emissions rose an estimated 29 percent since 2020 due to new data centers specifically “designed and optimized to support AI workloads.” Google has also calculated its own pollution generation has increased as much as 48 percent since 2019, largely because of data center energy needs.

#8 Fast Fashion Industry Stays True to Form

Fast fashion's dominance has led to overflowing landfills with discarded clothing. The equivalent to a rubbish truck full of clothes ends up in landfill every second. And by 2030, we are expected to throw away more than 134 million tons of textiles a year. Unfortunately most waste we produce is not recycled.

Repurposing clothes offers a sustainable alternative, reducing textile waste and extending a garment's lifespan. Even clothes in good condition can be repurposed. Refreshing outdated styles, transforming them into different garments, or using them for creative projects are all possibilities. Sadly, many brands are instead choosing to mislead the public.

In a 2022 survey, 55 percent of fashion shoppers in the United States at least somewhat agreed that they would stop buying from a fashion brand if they were proven to be making false or misleading claims about the sustainability of their product. The practice of making a product or company seem more environmentally friendly than it really is often referred to as greenwashing.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority concluded an investigation into companies including Boohoo and Asos earlier this year, requiring the retailers to clarify their green claims and recently to 17 “well-known” fashion brands. Some greenwashing examples include labeling products as “recycled” when only a small proportion of recycled materials was used to make them and marketing collections or ranges as in some way sustainable without clearly stating the criteria used for such a designation.

One such brand is Lululemon. Action Speak Louder came out with a report on April 18 on the discrepancies between Lululemon’s production practices and the eco-conscious messaging the brand puts out. And in February, climate advocacy group Stand.earth filed a greenwashing complaint against Lululemon with Canada’s Competition Bureau. Lawsuits of this kind are expected to multiply.

#9 Starbucks Greenwashing Continues Unabated

In Peru, it is estimated that 25% of deforestation is related to coffee production. Overall, the coffee chain has a high water footprint, with an estimate that the consumption of a 125-ml cup of coffee requires about 140 L of water.

Starbucks continues to limit access to organic coffee and limits investment in women owned coffee plantations. You can’t walk into a Starbucks shop without the large murals talking about their sustainability practices. Blown up images showing beautiful coffee plants being harvested by local people.

Starbucks does have coffee options that are accredited by various programs, such as Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, and USDA Organic. These are easier to find if you are buying whole beans, but if you are getting a to go order, good luck. They have various coffee beans that are packaged for home use such as the Starbucks Organic French Roast and the Starbucks Organic Yukon. In terms of decaf coffee, only the Decaf Italian Roast and the Decaf Komodo Dragon Blend are completely organic.

But the question is why can so many other companies do better? I walk down the aisle at my local Safeway and notice the store brand is now certified organic. That’s because by mid-2020, 100 percent of Albertsons Companies’ O Organics® coffee will be certified sustainable according to the Fair Trade USA standard or an equivalent.

One organization, the Sustainable Coffee Challenge is a collaborative effort of companies, governments, NGOs, research institutions and others to transition the coffee sector to be fully sustainable. Dozens of companies have committed to sustainable coffee sourcing from Aldi to Target.

Santa’s Nice List

#1 Uptick in Greenwashing Protections

Because of anti-greenwashing government policies, greenwashing cases are already on the decline. In Europe, the Netherlands experienced the largest reduction, with cases falling by 48%, followed by Italy at 39% and Spain at 28%.

Australia has increasingly utilized anti-greenwashing policies to go after bad actors. Since 1 July 2022, ASIC achieved 23 corrective disclosure outcomes, issued 13 infringement notices, and commenced 1 civil penalty proceeding against a financial services firm for greenwashing conduct, in addition to 2 ongoing civil penalty proceedings against financial services providers.

The EU’s new Green Claims Directive requires companies to back up broad environmental claims, such as “carbon neutral” or “made from recycled materials,” with credible evidence and reliable methodologies. Non-compliance can lead to legal consequences and financial penalties of up to 4% of a company's turnover. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act 2024 updates the UK’s legal framework for consumer protection, including the prohibition of unfair commercial practices, including misleading environmental claims (and omissions) made to consumers in connection with the marketing and advertising of products and services.

The Canadian Competition Act, Bill C-59 (2024) prohibits deceptive or deceptive marketing practices by companies which could be characterized as greenwashing. 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 percent 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.

India’s Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Greenwashing or Misleading Environmental Claims 2024. The Guidelines apply on all environmental claims made by a manufacturer, service provider or trader whose goods, products or services are the subject of an advertisement. all environmental claims shall be supported by easily accessible and verifiable evidence based on independent studies or third-party certification.

SEC Rules to Enhance and Standardize Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors aimed at enhancing and standardizing climate-related disclosures for investors. U.S. public companies must now provide comprehensive information in their annual reports and registration statements regarding the climate risks they face, their strategies for mitigating these risks, the financial impacts of severe weather events, and, in certain cases, the greenhouse gas emissions produced by their operations.

#2 Electric Airplanes Gain Traction

Worldwide, aviation accounts for 2.5% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and 12% of all CO2 emissions from transportation. Recent innovations are testing electric planes, hydrogen planes, and sustainable airline fuels (SAF).

November 2024 marked a milestone in the field of aviation. Virgin Atlantic's Flight100, a Boeing 787, embarked on the world's first transatlantic flight from London to New York powered entirely by biofuel – fuel derived from organic matter rather than fossil fuels. The fuel, known in the industry as Sustainable Aviation fuel (SAF), is derived from renewable or recycled waste such as corn grain, oil seeds, algae, other fats, oils, and greases, agricultural residues and more. One issue with SAFs is that they can be sourced from fossil fuels or biofuels that accelerate deforestation and carbon emissions.

Companies are now making progress on electric airplanes, moving beyond small commuter planes.

Scandinavian Airlines opened bookings aboard its first electric planes—the 30-seat ES-30 model, developed in partnership with Heart Aerospace—which will take to the skies in 2028.

Dutch startup Elysian is challenging that assumption with its plans for a fully electric regional aircraft, with a range of 500 miles (805 kilometers) and space for 90 passengers, capable of reducing emissions by 90% — which it aims to fly commercially within a decade.

And who can forget about the hype Archer Aviation is getting after a soft launch in Abu Dhabi.

#3 Progress in Reducing Packaging Waste

Annually, 8.3 million tons of mismanaged plastic waste enter oceans. In 2021, the EU generated a total of 84.3 million tonnes of packaging waste, 4.8 million tons more than a year before. Much of this comes from food packaging.

Minnesota became the fifth state in the country to pass the “Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act” in 2024. The law entails an “Extended Producer Responsibility” policy that promotes sustainability practices and holds manufacturers responsible for the kinds of materials produced, along with managing and educating on how materials are to be disposed of or reused. The new law applies to most packaging and paper products sold, offered for sale, distributed or used to ship a product within or into Minnesota, including online purchases and shipments.

Sustainable pet nutrition company Natoo, a Premierpet brand, announced that it has received a Polen Seal for its recycling and waste management efforts after successfully neutralizing the impact of 100% of its packaging. Natoo, specifically, has co-financed the collection, sorting and recycling of plastic equivalent to what is used in its packaging. According to the company, this initiative supports cooperatives and underserved areas of Brazil by compensating them for the plastic waste they collect and deliver to recycling plants. 

Amazon has swapped in 100% recycled paper where it previously used plastic air pillows in its packaging. When Amazon stopped using plastic air pillows in its packaging recently, it had a tremendous impact - though this is really a drop in the bucket for this packaging company that sells products. Last year, the company used nearly 15 billion such cushions in North America alone, and these largely can’t be recycled in curbside bins. Amazon says it’s already replaced 95% of those plastic air pillows, and that by the end of the year, they’ll be removed from every package.

#4 Youth Fight Back - and Win

Hawaii officials have announced a “groundbreaking” legal settlement with a group of young climate activists, which they said will force the state’s department of transportation to move more aggressively towards a zero-emission transportation system. Because of this, Hawaii officials will release a roadmap “to fully decarbonize the state’s transportation systems, taking all actions necessary to achieve zero emissions no later than 2045 for ground transportation, sea and inter-island air transportation”. The June 2022 lawsuit, Navahine F v Hawaii Department of Transportation, was filed by 13 young people who claimed the state’s pro-fossil fuel transportation policies violate their state constitutional rights.

Montana's Supreme Court upheld a landmark climate ruling led by youth that said the state was violating residents' constitutional right to a clean environment by permitting oil, gas and coal projects without regard for global warming. The justices found a policy that prevented Montana from considering the effect of greenhouse gases when issuing permits for fossil fuel development is unconstitutional. Originally In seeking to overturn the ruling, the state had argued the plaintiffs -- who range in age from 6 to 23 -- should be required to challenge individual permits as they're issued.

Canada gets first youth-led climate case. The Federal Court of Canada confirmed that the youth-led climate lawsuit La Rose v. His Majesty the King will proceed to an eight-week trial beginning Oct. 26, 2026, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Young residents of seven provinces and one territory will argue that Canada's government is exacerbating global warming and interfering with kids' rights to a safe climate. They have claimed that the government’s action — or, in some cases, inaction — violates basic human protections under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Their lawsuit seeks a legal declaration that the government’s climate policies violate the charter, as well as an order that officials enact a climate recovery plan aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.