Joseph Longo

Joseph Longo will not stand for greenwashing. As chairperson of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) he has led a crackdown on companies making misleading statements about their environmental, social, and governance track records. To this end, in the 15 months through June 2024, ASIC launched two federal court proceedings and issued infringement notices requesting over $123,000 in payments. And by August, it had won its first case against Mercer Superannuation (Australia) Ltd., a retirement and investment firm, which was fined $11.3 million after acknowledging it made misleading statements about the sustainability of some of its investment offerings. ASIC’s second win came in September when Vanguard Investments Australia was forced to pay a $12.9 million penalty for its misleading claims that one of its funds would include ESG exclusionary screenings.

What is the single most important action you think the public, or a specific company or government (other than your own), needs to take in the next year to advance the climate agenda?

Closing the gap between green claims and green action. That means ensuring decision-making by governments, organizations, and individuals is based on accurate and reliable information.  

If a company makes misleading statements and ‘greenwashes’ its credentials or products, it can lead to a misallocation of consumer capital and corporate resources. In turn, that undermines the trust and integrity in the whole market and the green transition. 

What's the most important climate legislation that could pass in the next year?

We want to see more countries join Australia in enshrining mandatory climate-related financial disclosures in legislation. It helps investors get the transparency they need to make decisions.   

The new legislation in Australia begins to take effect from next year and will eventually see more than 6,000 large Australian businesses and financial institutions prepare annual sustainability reports with metrics and targets across areas including emissions and governance, strategy, or risk management in this area.   

Changes like what we are implementing in Australia reflect that investors are increasingly relying on climate information to make decisions and will also create opportunities for companies that get ahead of the curve. 

It means greater visibility of the physical and transitional risks and climate-related transparency in their value chain.

If you could stand up and talk to world leaders at the next U.N. climate conference, what would you say?

Companies need to be able to confidently comply with disclosure standards if the potential for public and private investment in the green transition is to be achieved. If we get those settings right, markets will be able to effectively move capital to companies who are innovating and growing in the environmental space.  

 In Australia alone the green transition is going to take an estimated AU$1.5 trillion by 2030 and up to AU$9 trillion in capital by 2060.  That means we need to have conversations with industry now about whether the regulatory settings we have for our markets are the right ones to promote efficiency, transparency, and investment. 

There is always a fine balance between a ‘carrot and stick’ approach for regulators—ensuring conditions are right for the sorts of investments the green transition will need, while also ensuring regulated entities know their responsibilities when it comes to new sustainability reporting regimes and taking strong enforcement action against ‘greenwashing.’