Environmental Justice Australia has made a submission to the Senate Inquiry into Greenwashing.

Our submission highlights the urgent need for stronger regulation to stop misleading environmental claims, particularly by timber and fossil fuel companies.

Communities deserve truth in sustainability claims, not greenwashing that hides environmental harm.

Our key concerns:

• Third-party certification schemes: Weak and inconsistent standards allow logos like Responsible Wood to mask destructive logging practices.
• Government accountability: State-owned businesses and agencies must be held to the same consumer law standards as private companies.
• Litigation blind spots: Court findings exposing environmental harm are not automatically triggering reviews of related company claims, allowing false advertising to persist.

Recommendations

EJA is calling for:

• Legally enforceable standards for all environmental and sustainability claims.
• Improved guidance and regulation, including for certification schemes.
• Amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) to improve accountability.
• Equal scrutiny of government-owned businesses under consumer law.
• A process to ensure environmental litigation outcomes alert regulators and trigger audits of company claims.

Stronger enforcement against greenwashing is critical to protect people, places, and the climate from harmful false claims.