HSBC Net Zero Adverts Banned For Misleading Consumers

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that HSBC can no longer run net zero ads.

HSBC's efforts to address climate change have come under scrutiny in recent months.

The watchdog said that two posters "omitted material information" about HSBC's activities.

HSBC has been deemed to have misled customers by selectively promoting its green initiatives in the two adverts. The bank omitted information about its continued financing of companies with substantial greenhouse gas emissions and that this could potentially influence customer decisions around the bank’s financial products. 

The ASA published last year a guidance on misleading environmental claims and said that it planned to “shine a brighter regulatory spotlight” on environmental ads going forward. 

London-based ShareAction called on the banks to demand green plans from fossil fuel firms before funding them.

"If banks do not meet the targets they have announced or follow the climate strategy they have communicated, they expose themselves to litigation and reputational risks," ECB supervisor Anneli Tuominen told a conference in Frankfurt.

Companies can greenwash even when they have good intentions.

Greenwashing is when an organization spends more time and money on marketing itself as environmentally friendly than on actually minimizing its environmental impact. It’s a deceitful marketing gimmick intended to mislead consumers who prefer to buy goods and services from environmentally conscious brands.

Organizations that have engaged in greenwashing on a wide scale have made headlines over the years.

Climate-related lawsuits are on the rise, according to the Network for Greening the Financial System.