"Shell’s ‘green’ ad campaign banned in UK for being ‘likely to mislead’", 7 June 2023

"An ad campaign by Shell promoting its green initiatives has been banned for not telling consumers that most of its business is based on environmentally damaging fossil fuels such as petrol.

Shell, which has set goals to become a net zero carbon energy company by 2050 while also expanding its gas business by a fifth, ran a TV, poster and YouTube campaign pushing renewable electricity, wind and car charging point initiatives.

“From electric vehicle charging to renewable electricity for your home, Shell is giving customers more low-carbon choices and helping drive the UK’s energy transition,” the company says in one of the ads. “The UK is ready for cleaner energy.”

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which has also banned “green” ads in the UK by Spanish oil company Repsol and Malaysia’s Petronas for not providing full information on their activities and carbon reduction strategies, investigated the Shell ad after a complaint by campaigning group Adfree Cities.

Shell said that the aim of the ads was to raise awareness of the range of lower emission energy products it offers, and that mentioning high-carbon Shell products would be “counter productive” and “dilute the impact of the ads’ positive environmental message”.

The ad ban prompted the energy company to criticise the advertising watchdog’s decision as “shortsighted”, saying it risked slowing the UK’s desire to move to renewable energy.

“We strongly disagree with the ASA’s decision, which could slow the UK’s drive towards renewable energy,” said a spokesperson for Shell. “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.”..."