CS-VUE Breachy Awards 2024 winners

While 2025 started strong with California’s catastrophic fires, we can’t forget the environmental devastation that 2024 brought. 

The weather was as extreme: Typhoon Yagi swept across Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, killing more than 500 people and injuring thousands. In the States, Hurricane Helene killed 246, while Cyclone Remal killed 85 people in South Asia, Cyclone Chido killed 172 and Tropical Storm Trami 178. For two months, water drowned Afghanistan and Pakistan, leading to more than 1000 deaths. 

With the year wrapped up, we can bring you the best environmental breaches of 2024 and their contributions to the continuing climate crisis. 

A leader in its industry, Tesla has arguably been responsible for pushing EVs mainstream, forcing competitors to invest more in their electric ranges. 

However, these environmental wins don’t make it invulnerable to serious breaches.

It’s so-called Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, was found to have been releasing “toxic pollutants for months” caused by faulty equipment. The company also failed to inform the city that it was feeding untreated water from its discharge ponds into the local sewer system. After rainstorms, a mud-and-chemical sludge left over from spills would sometimes turn part of the Colorado River into a “brown slick”.

Investigations by the Wall Street Journal showed this was a mix of carelessness and mistruths. It found that the company prioritised speed over care for the environment or compliance. On at least one occasion, employees intentionally misled regulators during an inspection.

Other states have also been investigating Tesla plants. After long-running investigations, 25 California counties settled with Tesla for $1.5 million after accusing it of improperly disposing of used lead, acid, batteries, antifreeze, paint and electronic waste. 

SpaceX has been accused of violating the Clean Water Act following the maiden launch of its reusable transportation system, Starship. The project aims to take people to the moon and, one day, Mars. However, this quest to reach one planet has caused problems for another.

Their first launch caused immense damage in the area surrounding the Boca Chica, Texas, site. The spacecraft exploded in mid-air, wrecking the launchpad and sending debris flying. The dust plume stretched for miles, reaching residents and the nests of endangered birds and turtles. Rebuilding at pace, the company didn’t seek the permits necessary to discharge the massive deluge of water from its cooling systems. 

In the aftermath of the devasting forest fires of 2019-2020, Australia’s Environment Protection Authority imposed additional protections for the recovering Yambulla State Forest. 

Forestry Corporation of New South Wales (FCNSW) continued logging in the area, following incorrect mapping. The company illegally logged 53 eucalyptus trees in a significant ecological area and was fined $360,000. This is a small breach compared to the “pattern of environmental offending”, says the Land and Environment Court in its decision. 

“FCNSW has a significant history of unlawfully carrying out forestry operations. It has not provided any compelling evidence of measures taken to… prevent its reoffending and does not accept the true extent of harm that it has caused by its offending.” 

Sydney residents have been shut out of key public spaces – schools, parks and hospitals – after asbestos was found in the mulch. The companies responsible for supplying the contaminated mulch are VE Resource Recovery Pty Ltd and Greenlife Resource Recovery, trading as Freescale Trading Pty Ltd and Runkorp Pty Ltd.

While Billionaire developer Arnold Vitocco has been charged as the sole director of VE Resource Recovery, Greenlife is blaming a “complex” supply chain. 

In a statement, the company claimed the contamination could have come from anywhere but its plant: “transport companies, construction companies, landscapers, landscape yards and subcontractors”.

Engine maker Cummins Inc. was discovered to have been cheating on emissions testing for over a decade. It equipped its diesel engines with ‘defeat devices’, illegal software that detected an emissions test in progress and limited nitrogen oxide pollution.  

In the largest penalty ever secured under the US federal Clean Air Act, Cummins is paying a $1.675 billion fine and $325 million in remediation.

This fraud was precisely what Volkswagen engaged in before its own emissions scandal in 2015. The car manufacturer also used defeat devices in its diesel engines, even as it ran a major marketing campaign promoting their low emissions. In total, 11 million cars across its stable of brands were fitted with the device. 

From purposeful deviance to simple dereliction of duty, 2024 Breachy Award recipients represent the crème de la crème of environmental assailants. 

We congratulate each and every one and look forward to another impressive group of entrants in 2025. 

To avoid inadvertently entering this year’s CS-VUE Breachy Awards, get in touch.