In a crackdown on “greenwashing,” the UK’s advertising watchdog has banned ads from major oil and gas companies for being deceptive. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned ads from Shell, Repsol, and Petronas for misleading the public about the environmental and climate benefits of their products. The banned ads included a TV promotion from Petronas, an online ad from Repsol, and posters, TV, and YouTube ads from Shell. The ASA’s landmark rulings are expected to set a precedent for how energy companies promote their businesses. The watchdog stressed that despite recent announcements promoting renewable energy and net-zero goals, polluting products still dominate the three companies’ activities. Veronica Wignall of campaign group Adfree Cities said the ban “marks the end of fossil fuel greenwashing in the UK.”
ASA’s Ruling on Shell
Shell’s banned ad promoting its green credentials without mentioning its more polluting operations strongly disagreed with the ASA’s decision. According to the ASA, Shell’s investments and extraction of oil and gas made up the vast majority of its business model for 2022 and would continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Hence Shell’s claims of being environmentally friendly are misleading.
ASA’s Ruling on Repsol
Repsol had a substantial oil and gas exploration strategy, and the biofuels and synthetic fuels promoted in ads from 2022 amounted to a fraction of its business as it continued and expanded fossil fuel production. The ASA ruled that Repsol’s ads misled the public about the environmental and climate benefits of their products.
ASA’s Ruling on Petronas
Petronas’ claims were presented in such a way that the public could not understand the extent of their significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions in their 2022 announcement. According to the ASA, Petronas’ claims about its products were misleading.
UK Regulator’s Wider Investigation
The crackdown on the oil and gas companies’ ads is part of the regulator’s wider investigation into environmental claims across different sectors. This year, the UK regulator cracked down on airlines Etihad Airways and Lufthansa for misleading claims about the environmental impact of flying. Last year HSBC ads were banned because they misrepresented the bank’s green credentials and Tesco’s plant-based products.
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas called for the regulator to receive more powers to “proactively. . . reject these utterly misleading ads” and ban all high-carbon advertising.
Additional Piece:
Greenwashing: A Deceiving Advertising Practice
As consumers become more aware of the environmental impact of their choices, companies are starting to adapt their messages and branding strategies to advertise supposedly sustainable products. However, some companies use deceptive messages to promote environmental practices that only exist on paper while their damaging operations remain untouched. This disparity, commonly known as greenwashing, damages consumer trust and sustains the environmental crisis. Therefore, regulating bodies must remain vigilant in monitoring greenwashing practices in advertising to hold companies accountable for their environmental impact.
Greenwashing practices can manifest in various ways. Some advertisements may contain material information that highlights purely environmental aspects of certain products while disregarding other non-sustainable aspects. For example, an advertisement for a clothes brand might advertise its eco-friendly fabric while ignoring the fact that its production involves harmful chemicals and pesticides. Other advertisements may use vague, misleading language that blurs the distinction between sustainable and non-sustainable practices, such as claiming a product is “natural” or “organic” despite containing harmful chemicals.
Greenwashing practices are not only damaging to the consumers who are deceived into thinking their choices are environmentally sound, but they also hurt the environment. Companies that practice greenwashing can mislead consumers into supporting environmentally harmful practices, which can perpetuate the environmental crisis.
Fortunately, regulations, such as the recent ASA rulings, can help curb the trend of greenwashing. Companies are now being held accountable for the false and misleading claims they make about their products. Such regulations aim to hold companies accountable and ensure they provide accurate information about their environmental impact.
However, to tackle greenwashing effectively, consumers must also educate themselves on understanding what constitutes a true sustainable product. Consumers can research companies’ environmental practices and read product labels and reviews to discern sustainable and harmful practices better. Consumers can also support companies and products that align with their values and hold companies accountable when they fall short of their environmental promises.
In conclusion, greenwashing is a deceptive advertising practice that hurts the environment and undermines the public’s trust. Regulating bodies must remain vigilant in monitoring and punishing companies for their greenwashing practices. Simultaneously, consumers must educate themselves in distinguishing between genuinely sustainable practices and greenwashing tactics. By working together, we can truly support genuine environmentally sustainable products and practices and fight against the environmental crisis.
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The UK’s advertising watchdog has banned a group of ads from big oil and gas companies for being deceptive as part of a crackdown on ‘greenwashing’ or making something look more sustainable than it actually is.
THE Advertising Standards Authority said Wednesday that recent announcements from Shell, Repsol and Petronas have misled the public about the climate and environmental benefits of the groups’ products in general.
The landmark rulings are expected to set a precedent for how energy companies promote their businesses.
The banned ads included a TV promotion for Petronas, an online ad for Repsol, and posters, TV and YouTube ads for Shell. These ads had “material information withheld” promoting their “green” offerings and plans, such as renewable energy and net zero goals, with no mention of their most polluting operations, and as such were “misleading,” said the ASA extension.
In the judgments, the ASA stressed that polluting products still dominate the activities of the three companies concerned.
Shell’s banned ad touting its green credentials without mentioning its more polluting operations. The oil group ‘strongly disagrees’ with the ASA’s decision © Shell
“Investment and large-scale extraction of oil and gas made up the vast majority of [Shell’s] business model in 2022 and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future,” but the announcements in question gave the opposite impression, the regulator said.
Repsol, meanwhile, “had a substantial oil and gas exploration strategy,” and the biofuels and synthetic fuels it promoted in this year’s ads amounted to “a fraction of [its] business vs [its] substantial, continuing and expanding fossil fuel production,” the ASA said.
Similarly, the public would not understand the “extent of Petronas’ continued significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions given the presentation and claims” in a 2022 announcement, the regulator added.
Veronica Wignall, of campaign group Adfree Cities, which led the complaint against Shell, said the ban “marks the end of fossil fuel greenwashing in the UK. The world’s biggest polluters will not be allowed to advertise that they are “green” as they build new pipelines, refineries and drilling rigs.”
Shell said it “strongly disagreed” with the ASA’s decision. Consumers were “well aware that Shell produces the oil and gas they depend on” but may not have known that it was also investing in “low- and zero-carbon energy,” the company said.
Repsol said it has earmarked around a third of its “total investment to low-carbon businesses over the life of its 2021-2025 strategic plan,” adding it was committed to a “only energy transition”. Petronas declined to comment.
The fines are part of the UK regulator’s wider investigation into a range of environmental claims across sectors, including heating and transport.
The regulator this year cracked down on airlines Etihad Airways and Lufthansa for misleading claims about the environmental impact of flying, while last year it ads banned by HSBC which it felt it had misrepresented the bank’s green credentials, and another from Tesco about its plant-based products.
The SAA is also developing rules to govern carbon neutrality and net zero demands more broadly.
Regulators in the UK, EU and US that monitor advertising, competition and the financial markets are paying more attention to climate-related disclosures.
Legal and climate experts expect the heightened scrutiny to result in a growing number of legal cases challenging potentially misleading claims or breaches of fiduciary duty.
Caroline Lucas, a Green Party MP, said greenwashing ads were “allowed to spread false news about fossil fuels for too long”. The government should give the regulator more powers to enable it to “proactively . . . reject these utterly misleading ads” and ban all “high-carbon advertising,” she added.
Additional reporting by Tom Wilson
Climate capital
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