The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint and banned two climate change adverts placed by protection insurer and banking group HSBC as misleading.
The regulator told HSBC UK to ensure future marketing communications featuring environmental claims “were adequately qualified and did not omit material information about its contribution to carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions”.
The first poster featured an aerial image of waves crashing on a shore with text stating: “Climate change doesn’t do borders. Neither do rising sea levels. That’s why HSBC is aiming to provide up to $1 trillion in financing and investment globally to help our clients transition to net zero”.
The second poster featured an image of tree growth rings with text stating: “Climate change doesn’t do borders. So, in the UK, we’re helping to plant 2 million trees which will lock in 1.25 million tonnes of carbon over their lifetime”.
The ASA revealed it received 45 complaints, including from Adfree Cities, who challenged whether ads (a) and (b) were misleading, because they omitted significant information about HSBC’s contribution to carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions.
Net Zero targets
In its response, HSBC said the financing of greenhouse gas-emitting industries was required during the transition to net zero, and so their continued financing of those industries was not in conflict with the aims of a transition to net zero.
The financial institution added that as a business, it targeted a 34% reduction in absolute oil and gas financed emissions, and a 75% reduction in financed emissions intensity for the power and utilities sector by 2030.
It also planned to phase-out financing of thermal coal by 2030 in the European Union and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, and by 2040 in the rest of the world, adding this aim was consistent with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) report and the United Nations guidance in the area.
Unqualified claims
However the ASA rejected this defence.
It said that advertising codes required the basis of environmental claims must be clear and that unqualified claims could mislead if they omit significant information.
The regulator acknowledged HSBC’s 2021 annual report indicated the bank intended to invest between $750bn and $1trn in helping its clients transition to net zero.
However it also indicated that HSBC’s current financed emissions – emissions related to the customers it financed – stood at the equivalent of around 65.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year for oil and gas alone, based on the information available at the time the report had been prepared.
The ASA added that it understood this figure was likely to be much higher once other carbon-intensive industries such as power and utilities, construction, transport, and coal mining had been analysed and included.
And it noted that, despite the initiatives highlighted in the ads, HSBC was continuing to significantly finance investments in businesses and industries that emitted notable levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses.
“We did not consider consumers would know that was the case, and we therefore considered it was material information that was likely to affect consumer understanding of the ads’ overall message, and so should have been made clear in the ads,” the ASA said.
“We concluded that the ads omitted material information and were therefore misleading.”
As a result, the ASA ruled the adverts must not appear again in the form complained of.