Shell hits back at adverts watchdog after it accuses firm of greenwashing

NICHOLAS EARL

ENERGY giant Shell last night hit back at the UK’s advertising watchdog, after the body found it guilty of greenwashing.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint that two Shell adverts, which emphasised the company’s renewable credentials, were likely to “mislead consumers [by misrepresenting] the contribution that lower-carbon initiatives played, or would play in the near future, as part of the overall balance of a company’s activities”.

Shell disagreed with the decision, arguing their advertising campaign was essential for drawing awareness to their growing green agenda.

A spokesperson for Shell said: “People are already well aware that Shell produces the oil and gas they depend on today. When customers fill up at our petrol stations across the UK, it’s under the instantly- recognisable Shell logo.”

Shell has warned the ASA it would be disproportionate and unworkable for regulators to require businesses with diverse product portfolios to ensure that ads, whose primary purpose was usually to promote a specific range of products, always provided a full overview of the advertiser’s business as a whole.

It is not the first time the ASA has hit out at a corporate giant over green claims, having banned two ads created by HSBC touting its environmental contribution despite it “continuing to significantly finance” non-green projects.