If we're to live in a future free of ads that promote Big Oil and mask the industry's destruction of Earth and associated consequences, a U.K. watchdog will have a major say.
After Adfree Cities flagged a commercial by Lloyds Banking Group as misleading, the Advertising Standards Authority banned it, DeSmog reported. The greenwashing attempt touted the bank's "low carbon" and energy transition bona fides, which obscured its heavy investment in oil and gas companies.
Last year, Lloyds pumped up its dirty fuel funding by £500 million ($635.5 million), the outlet noted. From 2016 to 2023, it financed industry projects to the tune of £16 billion ($20.3 billion).
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Adfree Cities lodged complaints with the ASA about three other advertisements centered on Lloyds' environmental initiatives, but they were rejected because "consumers were unlikely to think they were representative of the bank's wider business activities," DeSmog stated.
"A confusing blend of claims relating to Lloyds' operational and financed emissions helps to obscure the bank's continued financial support to fossil fuels," Adfree Cities Co-Director Veronica Wignall told the investigative publication. "Whether conscious or not, this is a greenwashing tactic we'd expect to see from an oil major, not a bank that's a trusted household name."
A Lloyds spokesperson said the "single LinkedIn post for a sustainability awareness day … will not be repeated" and added that the company is working to be net zero by 2050.
Without the advocacy of Adfree Cities, the ad could have remained unchallenged. There's also something to be said for its raising of alarm bells, which may have educated consumers about Lloyds' oil-related business practices, which support companies that pollute the environment to the detriment of humans, wildlife, and Earth. The rapidly rising global temperature is wreaking havoc on our bodies as well as plant and animal species and driving increasingly severe and frequent extreme weather.
DeSmog also reported that climate justice organization Opportunity Green called out an MSC Cruises ad campaign for greenwashing its operations. MSC agreed to remove the ads, but other companies were still marketing the cruise line with claims that it uses "clean, green technology."
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