In a landmark ruling by the Advertising Watchdog, HSBC was accused of misleading consumers and greenwashing its reputation.
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), stated that HSBC made unqualified claims and omitted information about its environmental credentials in high-street ads that were published in October last year, in the lead-up to COP26.
The ASA stated that it received 45 complaints from the public claiming that HSBC had “greenwashed” its record by selectively promoting green initiatives and failing to disclose details about its ongoing financing of fossil fuels.
Two ads were posted at bus stops in London and Bristol. One claimed that the lender would finance clients’ transition to net zero by providing $1 trillion, while the other promised to plant two million trees to capture 1.25 million tonnes of carbon.
HSBC is Britain’s largest lender and has been prohibited from publishing the ads again in their original form.
According to the ASA, “We instructed HSBC to ensure future marketing communications containing environmental claims are adequately qualified and didn’t omit any material information about its contribution towards carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.”
This comes after HSBC suspended a senior executive for comments he made during a presentation in which he attacked climate “nutjobs”.
The former global head for responsible investing at the bank’s asset management division, Stuart Kirk, resigned in July to protest “cancel culture” and “virtue signalling”.
Later, the bank accused Mr Kirk of leaking information to the press. He denied these allegations.
HSBC argued in its evidence to ASA that the financing of oil and natural gas production was not inconsistent with net zero emission goals. However, some fossil fuel investment would be required to achieve an orderly transition.
The bank cited a report from the International Energy Agency (net zero) that stated that the world would still require 20pc current natural gas production and 25pc current oil production in order to be energy secure by 2050.
However, ASA argued that consumers wouldn’t understand “the intricacies” of transitioning “to net zero” and that ads didn’t disclose HSBC’s “significant contributions to greenhouse gas emissions” and its commitment to this industry for “many years to come”.
Robbie Gillett, a representative of Adfree Cities, led the complaint. He said that this was a significant moment in fighting banks from greenwashing our image. HSBC cannot continue to bankroll climate destruction in the background while plying us with fake green ads.
HSBC spokesmen said that the financial sector had a responsibility to inform its customers about its involvement in the low-carbon transition. We will also be looking at how to achieve this goal as we meet our ambitious net-zero targets.
