The UK’s advertising regulator has labeled the advertisements of some major oil producers as greenwashing. This means that these companies pretend to be more sustainable than they really are. Shell, Repsol Spain and Petronas Malaysia ads are now banned in the UK. Advertisements tout investment in renewable energy without mentioning the extent of the polluting activity.

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Companies in the high-carbon sector “have to be very careful with their environmental messaging,” said ASA chief executive Guy Parker. According to Parker, companies need to provide consumers with some information to get the other side of the story.

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All of the targeted campaigns by the ASA emphasize the renewable energy ambitions of oil companies. For example, Petronas declares in a TV commercial to ‘enrich lives for a sustainable future’, without mentioning the large CO2 emissions it has. In the case of Spanish oil giant Repsol, this relates to advertisements on the Financial Times website promoting biofuel and synthetic fuel investments. The investment represents only a portion of the company’s business, according to the ASA.

Craftiness

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. In the Netherlands, Shell was also reprimanded several times last year by the Advertising Code Committee for misleading advertisements.

A Shell spokesman said he disagreed with the ASA decision. ‘People know full well that Shell produces the oil and gas they rely on today. But what a lot of people don’t know is that we’re also investing heavily in low-carbon and carbon-free energy.’ According to the spokesperson, no energy transition can be successful if consumers are not aware of the alternatives available.’