“GreenFakes […] shows how multinationals, such as TotalEnergies and construction giant Eiffage, obtain permits to implement projects that destroy biodiversity in developing countries, in violation of international standards, with the complicity of consulting firms and international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank.”
Africa Uncensored, February 2025
GreenFakes exposes how leading environmental auditors help multinationals greenwash destructive mega-projects, producing biased impact reports that secure “permits to destroy” biodiversity in developing countries. It raises urgent questions about the environmental auditing industry’s independence and integrity.
The Case
In February 2025, Mediapart, together with Africa Uncensored and Mongabay, published GreenFakes, an investigation based on confidential files received by Climate Whistleblowers. The documents reveal how multinationals are destroying biodiversity in developing countries, helped by environmental auditors that deliver weak or incomplete impact assessments.
These firms, meant to act as independent watchdogs, often work very closely with their corporate clients as they have become financially dependent on them. The result: reports shaped to suit the companies’ needs, enabling projects with severe environmental and human rights consequences to go ahead.
The French auditor Biotope, leader in its sector, and the UK’s The Biodiversity Consultancy are named in the investigation. Biotope worked repeatedly for TotalEnergies (at least 36 assignments between 2015 and 2022) on projects such as the Tilenga oil project in Uganda or Mozambique LNG, but also with Eiffage on a dam construction in Côte d’Ivoire, and on bauxite mines in Guinea financed by big European and African banks. Many of these ventures are notorious for environmental destruction. Investigations have shown Biotope’s reports were sometimes edited and approved directly by the companies behind the projects.
Why It Matters
Environmental auditors are meant to serve as independent watchdogs. Instead, their financial dependence on clients turns audits into tools for greenwashing. Reports are shaped to meet companies’ needs and “permits to destroy” biodiversity are granted under the appearance of compliance.
GreenFakes warns that this is not an isolated case: across the industry, consultancies are helping corporations mask the real impacts of mega-projects, raising urgent questions about the integrity of environmental auditing.
What was CW’s role?
Climate Whistleblowers was the driving force behind the GreenFakes investigation, from inception to global publication. CW coordinated the secure collection and verification of leaked documents exposing how leading environmental auditing firms colluded with corporations.
Once the evidence was assembled, CW led the strategic coordination of an international media partnership, including Mediapart, Africa Uncensored, and Mongabay, ensuring the findings reached audiences worldwide. We guided the investigative process, shaped the narrative for maximum public impact, and timed the release to generate international attention.
Beyond publication, CW continues to support follow-up advocacy, briefing other NGOs, journalists and decision-makers to keep the revelations in the public eye and push for stronger oversight of environmental auditing practices.