ESG Enforcement Tracker

Key facts:

In August 2021, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) filed a claim in the Australia Federal Court against Australian oil and gas company Santos over alleged greenwashing statements made in its 2020 Annual Report.

The ACCR said that Santos’ claims that natural gas provides “clean energy” and that it has a “credible and clear plan” to achieve “net zero” emissions by 2040 are misleading under the Australian Corporations Act 2001 and the Australian Consumer Law.

The ACCR had said at the time that this was “the first court case in the world to challenge the veracity of a company’s net emission target”.

On 17 February 2026, the Federal Court dismissed the greenwashing case brought by ACCR, awarding costs to Santos.  It found that Santos had not engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in its 2020 Annual Report, 2020 Investor Day Briefing and 2021 Climate Change Report.

The Court heard the matter over three weeks in October, November and December 2024.  In response to ACCR’s allegations, Santos told the court its climate targets represented “present intention” rather than “a promise or prediction.” 

Justice Brigitte Markovic dismissed the case and ordered ACCR to pay Santos’ costs.  The Co-CEO of ACCR, Brynn O’Brien, commented “It has been a David versus Goliath battle and Goliath won this round.”  The reasons for the decision will be published later this month.