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ASA finds Repsol SA advert to be misleading in light of missing environmental claims

Date:
18 October 2023

Relevant legislation/regulation:
Unqualified environmental claims can be misleading if they do not contain significant information

Jurisdiction:
United Kingdom

Status:
Closed

Regulator/enforcement authority:
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)

ESG Category:
Environmental

Defendant(s)/subjects(s):
Repsol SA

Key Facts:

In July 2023, global energy company Repsol SA paid for an online advert to appear on the Financial Times website, which also appeared in the Financial Times digital energy newsletter. This described that Repsol SA was committed to using renewable hydrogen as a multi-purpose energy source.

Adfree Cities complained that the advert was misleading on the basis that it omitted important information about the environmental implications of Repsol’s business activities.

The ASA upheld the complaint and agreed that the advert was likely to mislead because it “gave the overall impression that a significant proportion of Repsol’s business comprised lower carbon energy, such as renewable hydrogen, and therefore further information about the proportion of Repsol’s overall business model… should have been included”.

Sources:

ASA ruling