ASA Sides with Shell UK On Greenwashing Complaints

With greenwashing under renewed focus following the introduction of the DMCC Act, the ASA has published an instructive ruling in relation to environmental claims with Shell UK escaping censorship following complaints from multiple campaign groups concerning its TV advertising.

The ruling is of particular interest to energy companies and other high-emission businesses, with the decision confirming there is scope for advertisers in these sectors to promote their ‘green’ initiatives in a manner which does not result in a breach of the UK’s Advertising Code.

The Ad

The advert featured an individual walking in Shell branded overalls through several scenes, including (among others) Shell engineers installing EV chargers on a street, followed by a family home bathroom; an offshore gas rig, followed by a kitchen; and a laboratory with a sign stating “Energy Transition Skills Hub” which featured miniature wind turbines and workers welding materials. 

A voice-over made statements including “Helping supply more than 20% of the UK’s gas”, “investing in people and communities to build skills for the energy transition” and “Shell is helping power the UK; now and into the future”. The advert also included a qualification, superimposed in white text at the bottom of the frame stating:

“In 2023, 68% of Shell’s global investments included oil & gas, 23% included low-carbon energy solutions and 9% non-energy products. Shell’s target is to become a net zero emissions (NZE) energy business by 2050”. 

The ASA’s Ruling

In response to multiple complaints by campaign groups including AdFree Cities and Carbon Tracker that the ad gave a misleading impression of Shell’s environmental impact, the ASA sided with Shell. 

In its ruling, the ASA pointed to CAP guidance stating that ads by high-emission businesses referring to specific environmentally beneficial initiatives are more likely to mislead consumers unless they include ‘balancing information’ which contextualises the business’ overall emissions, and the significance of low carbon activities when viewed as a proportion of the total activities of such businesses. 

The ASA considered that the advert did not “focus singularly on the environmentally beneficial initiatives in which Shell was involved, but included elements that drew out representative examples about both lower-carbon aspects […] and higher carbon aspects”. 

In doing so, the ASA looked favourably on the depiction of scenes of gas extraction by the offshore rig and use of that gas in a home, determining that the ad provided context to Shell’s claims and that viewers would likely understand that Shell is involved in both lower and higher-carbon activities.

Additionally, the qualifying information provided by Shell in the voice-over and super-imposed text was deemed to show the degree to which Shell’s investments concern oil and gas, with the ASA concluding that the ad as a whole did not give a misleading impression of Shell’s environmental impact.

Comment

This is a notable ruling since it is the first instance of the ASA determining that an oil and gas company has provided sufficient balancing information concerning their high carbon activities to contextualise promotional claims regarding their greener investments. 

The ruling is likely to help inform the advertising practices of many businesses in carbon-intensive sectors, with the confirmation that green claims can be made in a compliant manner provided they are adequately contextualised. 

This is of particular importance given environmental claims are likely to be a central target of the CMA’s new and enhanced enforcement powers following the introduction of the DMCC.