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The UK’s advertising regulator has labeled the advertisements of some major oil producers, including Shell, as greenwashing, meaning that these companies pretend to be more sustainable than they really are. Hence the Shell, Repsol Spain and Petronas Malaysia advertisements in which oil companies promote their investments in renewable energy without specifying the extent to which their other polluting activities are banned in the UK.
AP
June 7, 2023
Companies in the high carbon sector “have to be very careful with their environmental messaging,” said UK advertising authority ASA’s chief executive Guy Parker. “These companies have to provide readers and viewers with at least some information to tell the other side of the story.”
All of the targeted campaigns by the ASA emphasize the renewable energy ambitions of oil companies. Petronas, for example, declared in a TV commercial to “enrich lives for a sustainable future”, without mentioning that the company still has significant carbon emissions.
Poster campaign
At Spanish oil giant Repsol, the ASA targeted ads on the Financial Times website touting biofuel and synthetic fuel investments. The investment represents only a “small fraction” of the company’s business, according to the ASA.
Shell ran poster campaigns, YouTube videos and TV commercials featuring the phrase ‘cleaner energy’. According to regulators, this is misleading because it ignores the fact that the majority of Shell’s activities consist of oil and gas. Last year, Shell was also reprimanded several times by the Advertising Code Committee in the Netherlands for misleading advertisements.
A Shell spokesman said he disagreed with the ASA decision. “People already know well that Shell produces the oil and gas they depend on today. But what many people don’t know is that we are also investing heavily in low-carbon and zero-carbon energy. No energy transition can be successful if people are not aware of the alternatives available to them.”
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