Shell campaign promoting carbon offsetting is greenwashing, Dutch advertising watchdog rules
1 September 2021, source edie newsroom
Extracts
The Netherlands’ advertising watchdog has urged Royal Dutch Shell to stop running a campaign promoting fuel purchases as ‘carbon neutral’, providing that customers purchase offsets.
The campaign in question promotes a Shell offer whereby those buying petrol and diesel can choose to pay an extra fee that will fund carbon offsetting. Shell uses carbon credits that support nature-based projects including tree planting.
A group of nine law students from the Free University in Amsterdam made a complaint to the Netherlands’ Advertising Code Committee (Stichting Reclame Code), accusing Shell of greenwashing using the campaign, which is called ‘Drive CO2 Neutral’.
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