Background: Volkswagen are the German car manufacturers (famous for the 'lil punch buggies). In 2016, this crew got in trouble in Australia after the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) revealed they did something very shady.

What happened: Volkswagen used sneaky software, which showed their cars produced lower greenhouse gas emissions...but in reality, they produced around 40 times the pollution limit in the US.

What else: They sold around 57,000 of these cars in Australia, so the ACCC took them to court...and they were fined $125 million. Volkswagen tried to appeal the fine to the High Court, but were rejected. This decision sends a strong message to companies thinking of greenwashing their products.

So what's the key learning?

💡Greenwashing is a marketing spin used by companies to make their products seem more environmentally friendly, and therefore persuade people to buy their products.

💡 Research shows that 'greenwashing' actually harms the market for environmentally friendly products...because consumers can't tell the difference between real and fake claims.

💡But because the High Court won't hear Volkswagen's case, it's proof they ain't playing around. So companies better watch out...and better think twice...before making big calls about how 'green' they are.