Paulina Duran

SYDNEY – A court in Australia has granted a Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC) shareholder access confidential documents that will allow them to determine if the nation’s top bank adhered to its climate change policy when lending money to oil and natural gas projects.

The Federal court on Thursday published an order granting the Guy & Kim Abrahams Family Trust authorisation to inspect some of the bank’s internal documentation on seven oil and gas projects.

David Barnden, the Abrahams’ lawyer, stated that it is the first time that an Australian court granted access to documents within a company to inspect its compliance with the net-zero carbon change policy.

This comes amid increasing concerns about greenwashing, where businesses paint a positive picture of climate policies and business practices in order to appeal to ethical investors.

Barnden stated that the orders allow clients to examine internal bank documents to determine if they are involved in greenwashing, or if there is sufficient internal system to comply with their policies.

Abrahams are concerned about the financing by the bank of seven projects, despite the fact that it committed in 2019 not to provide funds for any new oil or gas projects.

Investors will receive CBA records for projects such as the Permian Highway Pipeline in the United States and Euronav (NYSE:.) NV Crude Carriers.

Abrahams will have access to all documents (CBA) to conduct an assessment on the economic, environmental and social impacts of projects…(and) documents created… to assess whether projects meet the Paris Agreement goals,” according to the document.

Access to executive and board records relating to CBA’s changes in oil and gaz policies for this year is also granted by the orders. These documents document CBA’s decision to drop all restrictions on lending to that sector except if the projects comply with the Paris Agreement.

A spokesperson from Commonwealth Bank refused to comment.

Matt Comyn is the Chief Executive of CBA. He previously indicated that CBA updated its policies to provide more details about which loans it will finance.