With the public increasingly concerned about environmental issues, some companies have made their products and production processes greener. However, other corporations have engaged in greenwashing — they have made an "unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company's products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do," said Investopedia. Companies can be punished for greenwashing, and often forced to pay hefty fines. Here are three examples.
Volkswagen ($30B)
Volkswagen has had the largest greenwashing fine to date. In 2015, the company was caught rigging two of its diesel engines to make them appear to release fewer emissions. In reality, the engines were releasing 40 times the nitrogen oxide permitted by the Environmental Protection Agency, BBC said. VW incurred costs of approximately $30 billion, including a $2.8 billion criminal penalty from the U.S. government, a $125 million fine in Australia, and $590 million from the European Commission. Six employees also faced criminal charges in the U.S.
Toyota ($180M)
Automaker Toyota was required to pay a $180 million fine for Clean Air Act violations. Between 2005 and 2015, the company "systematically failed to report defects that interfered with how its cars controlled tailpipe emissions, violating standards designed to protect public health and the environment from harmful air pollutants," The New York Times said. In addition, "managers and staff in Japan knew about the practice but failed to stop it, and the automaker quite likely sold millions of vehicles with the defects." Toyota may also face an additional $50 million fine from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
DWS ($25M)
Deutsche Bank's investment firm DWS must pay $25 million as determined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its statements regarding the environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing process. A two-year investigation found that the firm made "materially misleading statements about its controls for incorporating ESG factors into research and investment recommendations for ESG integrated products," said ESGToday. The fine also encompasses DWS' failure to "develop a mutual-fund anti-money laundering program as required by law," Reuters said. | 
