Toyota referred to ACCC as watchdog reveals industries in greenwashing crackdown

A complaint has been lodged with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) about Australia’s largest and most popular car brand, over what Greenpeace alleged is blatant and intentional misinformation in Toyota’s advertising tantamount to greenwashing.

Director of Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s Electrify campaign Lindsay Soutar said Toyota was intentionally “understating its cars’ emissions and overstating its commitment to clean transport” in a bid to delay the world’s uptake of electric vehicles.

“Toyota Motor Corporation makes claims in its advertising that give the false impression the company is leading the transition to clean cars, but the truth is Toyota is not leading the transition but is acting globally to block the take-up of electric vehicles,” Soutar said.

It comes after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) made history this week by suing Mercer Super for greenwashing, the first such legal action of what could prove to be many as the watchdog cracks down on bogus green credentials.

What does the complaint entail?

Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s complaint alleges that Toyota falsely markets itself as leading the transition to clean cars, one of the conclusions of a damning investigation into the car manufacturer called The Toyota Files.

In the late ’90s, Toyota was known as a pioneer of hybrid EV technology, and in 2001 when the game-changing hybrid Prius officially exploded onto the market pundits celebrated it as the beginning of an era of cleaner cars.

It’s been riding the wave ever since. In 2022, Toyota was the biggest seller of hybrids in Australia — mostly RAV4s — with a record 72,000 driving out of the showroom, accounting for nearly a third (31.5%) of the Japanese automotive titan’s total sales.

Despite spruiking it as a green alternative, a hybrid EV is much closer to a gas-guzzling petrol car than an actual EV, according to research from the European Federation for Transport and Environment (E&T), which found they only reduce automotive emissions by a fifth (21%) compared to EVs (69%).

“Hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have been heavily promoted as a climate solution but despite their green credentials, life cycle, and real-world usage, analysis reveals significant limitations of this technology,” Soutar said.

Greenpeace’s complaint also alleged Toyota’s net zero by 2050 plans was “inconsistent with its current plans for car production” pointing to a Greenpeace Germany report that showed Toyota was expected to produce between 93 and 109 million more petrol-powered cars vehicles.

On home soil, the carmaker recently announced plans to release 30 new EV models into the Australian market by 2030, but is also thought to have ordered in excess of 64,000 petrol-powered HiLux units — Australia’s most popular car — to hit our shores this year alone.

Greenpeace further alleged Toyota is “not seeking a rapid transition to eco-friendly cars and has a global track record of lobbying to delay, block or weaken vehicle emissions standards,” pointing out thinktank InfluenceMap ranked the carmaker as one of the world’s most aggressive anti-climate lobbyists, behind oil and gas giants ExxonMobil and Chevron.

“Toyota has both publicly condemned and privately advocated against stricter emission standards in the UK, US, EU, and Australia and has donated to politicians who reject the scientific consensus on human-induced climate change,” the Greenpeace complaint read.

In 2020-21, Charters Towers Toyota donated $20,000 to the Katter’s Australian Party, according to donations and other receipts declared by political parties to the Australian Electoral Commission.

More to come, watchdog warns

It comes as the ACCC warned it would be investigating “a number of businesses” after a damning internet sweep found some 57% of 247 businesses made “concerning” claims on their websites that may qualify as greenwashing.

“Businesses using broad claims like ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘green’, or ‘sustainable’ are obliged to back up these claims through reliable scientific reports, transparent supply chain information, reputable third-party certification or other forms of evidence,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.

“Already, we have several active investigations underway across the packaging, consumer goods, food manufacturing, and medical devices sectors for alleged misleading environmental claims and these may grow, as we continue to conduct more targeted assessments into businesses and claims identified through the sweep.”

Lowe urged businesses to come forward and self-report to the ACCC if they knew they had made false or misleading marketing claims about their green credentials, saying they’d be “considered more favourably than those who wait for the ACCC to unearth these problems”.

When contacted, a Toyota Australia spokesperson said, “Toyota Australia has a long track record in helping customers reduce their vehicle emissions, including through the supply of over 315,000 hybrid-electric vehicles and investment in reduced tailpipe emissions vehicles and carbon neutral technologies. We are committed to achieving a sustainable future and reject any claims to the contrary.”

This article was updated at 3:30pm on Friday, March 3, 2023.