An advert for international vitality agency Repsol’s involvement in renewable hydrogen has been banned for omitting to make any point out that large-scale oil and gasoline kinds the “overwhelming majority” of its enterprise.
The net advert on the Monetary Instances web site in July featured a picture of a water droplet with the caption: “Renewable hydrogen, one other different to cut back emissions. At Repsol, we’re dedicated to renewable hydrogen as an vitality supply that gives up completely different makes use of similar to zero internet emissions artificial gasoline manufacturing.”
The advert additionally featured graphics together with the textual content “H2”, a photo voltaic panel with a solar, a automobile with a stylised letter “e” that had a plug on the finish, a wind turbine, a sapling, and a petroleum pump with a leaf on it.
Adfree Cities complained that the advert was deceptive as a result of it omitted important details about the general environmental affect of Repsol’s enterprise actions.
Repsol stated its investments in low-carbon vitality make up a 3rd of its complete spending, and it goals to attain internet zero emissions throughout its enterprise by 2050.
The agency describes itself as the biggest operator within the Spanish electrical automobile (EV) charging community, whereas additionally creating and promoting liquid fuels, gasoline and diesel, renewable biofuels, and pure gasoline for automobiles, producing a median of 600,000 barrels of oil equal per day, of which almost 70% is gasoline.
It stated it’s a Spanish firm with no related presence for customers within the UK market, and the advert had been focused at potential traders within the vitality sector fairly than most people.
It added that it has no obligation to explain the totality of its enterprise actions in an advert, and that the advert couldn’t have misled customers or traders into making a transactional determination that they’d not in any other case have taken.
The ASA stated Repsol’s carbon emissions stood at 171 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equal (CO2e) in 2021 – 50% of the UK’s emissions in 2021 – and it produced roughly 600,000 barrels of oil per day.
The watchdog famous that the corporate additionally has a considerable oil and gasoline exploration technique, proudly owning an curiosity in 40,660 acres of oil and gasoline growth and exploration throughout Europe, Latin America, North AmericaAfrica, and Asia and Oceania.
The ASA stated: “We due to this fact understood that large-scale international oil and gasoline funding and exploration shaped the overwhelming majority of Repsol’s enterprise pursuits.
“We thought-about the advert gave the general impression {that a} important proportion of Repsol’s enterprise comprised decrease carbon vitality, similar to renewable hydrogen, and due to this fact additional details about the proportion of Repsol’s general enterprise mannequin that comprised decrease carbon vitality was materials data that ought to have been included.
“As a result of the advert didn’t embody that data, we concluded it omitted materials data and was more likely to mislead.”
The ASA dominated that the advert should not seem once more, including: “We instructed Repsol to make sure that their future advertisements that includes environmental claims didn’t mislead by omitting important details about the proportion of their enterprise actions that have been comprised of renewable vitality, or the position renewable vitality and renewable hydrogen performed of their enterprise actions.”
Repsol stated: “We respectfully disagree with this ruling and stay dedicated to sustaining our management in offering more and more decarbonised vitality for society by way of our investments in hydrogen, renewable fuels and renewable energy, amongst others.”