Now the whistle has been blown on the Emissions Reduction Fund’s (ERF) carbon credit scheme, companies need to assess whether their own emissions reduction plans are green washing. Last month, the former head of the federal government’s $4.5 billion carbon credits fund claimed that most of the money under the scheme, upon which companies relied on to reduce their carbon footprint, was being spent on fake carbon reductions.

Professor Andrew Macintosh claimed that, not only did most of the approved carbon credits not represent real or new cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, but the scheme actually hurt the environment by allowing corporations to purchase carbon credits instead of cutting emissions. Relying on carbon credits to offset carbon emissions has often been criticised as a way for companies to demonstrate their “green credentials” without having to make meaningful changes to their operating models.