The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) has said it will ban adverts making misleading or exaggerated climate positive claims following concerns over the validity of carbon offset schemes.
The UK’s advertising watchdog told The Guardian that it will be clamping down hard on adverts making unsubstantiated climate positive claims such as ‘carbon neutral’, ‘net zero’ and ‘recyclable’ as part of a greenwashing crackdown – unless they can demonstrate they really are effective.
The ASA’s stricter rules on making claims about having a positive impact on the climate without evidence will come later this year, following a six-month review.
The move comes in the wake of a Guardian investigation which revealed that more than 90% of carbon offset schemes are worthless, with many firms ultimately misleading consumers about their true environmental impact.
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Greenwashing has come under fire recently, with the ASA taking action against Etihad and Lufthansa airlines for “exaggerated” environmental claims.
The Guardian’s previous January investigation into carbon offset credit certifier Verra found that nearly all offset schemes used by organisations including Shell, Disney and Gucci (who in 2019 claimed they were carbon neutral) had no benefit to the climate.
Founder of conscious marketing organisation Big Small Good Lucy Bunce said: “Major oil companies are some of the biggest buyers of carbon offsets to help meet their climate pledges while continuing to invest in fossil fuels.”
Ben Lynch, founder of CleanTech Capital Advisors, said: “At CleanTech Capital Advisors I have had the good fortune this past decade to work with some of Europe’s leading ClimateTech start-ups.
“There is no need to cheat to to reach Net Zero, as this analysis from the Guardian, Die Zeit and SourceMaterial concludes some huge organisations are party to. We have the means to do this properly, so let’s just do it!”
