HSBC climate change adverts banned by UK watchdog

2 years ago 65

One of the banned ads astatine a autobus halt successful London.

By Annabelle Liang

Business reporter

The UK's advertizing regulator has banned 2 HSBC advertisements for being "misleading" astir the company's enactment to tackle clime change.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the banking elephantine tin nary longer tally the ads which promoted its plans to trim harmful emissions.

The watchdog said that the posters "omitted important information" astir HSBC's activities.

It marks the ASA's archetypal enactment against a slope for alleged "greenwashing".

A HSBC spokesperson told the BBC that "The fiscal assemblage has a work to pass its relation successful the debased c modulation to rise nationalist consciousness and prosecute its customers."

"We volition see however champion to bash this arsenic we present our ambitious nett zero commitments," they added.

Greenwashing - branding thing arsenic eco-friendly, greenish oregon sustainable erstwhile this is not the case - misleads consumers into reasoning they are helping the satellite by choosing those goods oregon services.

The adverts were seen astatine autobus stops successful London and Bristol past October, successful the pb up to the highly-anticipated United Nations COP26 clime alteration summit.

The posters outlined HSBC's efforts to works trees and assistance its customers execute "net zero" emissions. Net zero means not adding to greenhouse gases already successful the ambiance by cutting and trying to equilibrium retired emissions.

The ASA said the ads "omitted important accusation astir HSBC's publication to c dioxide and greenhouse state emissions."

"Customers... would not expect that HSBC, successful making unqualified claims astir its environmentally beneficial work, would besides beryllium simultaneously progressive successful the financing of businesses which made important contributions to c dioxide and different greenhouse state emissions," the regulator added.

HSBC's efforts to code clime alteration person travel nether scrutiny successful caller months.

In February, campaigners accused large banks, including HSBC, of pumping billions of dollars into caller lipid and state production contempt being portion of a greenish banking group.

London-based ShareAction called connected the banks to request greenish plans from fossil substance firms earlier backing them.

ShareAction said that 24 large banks, which joined the Net Zero Banking Alliance past year, had since provided $33bn (£29.1bn) for caller lipid and state project.

At the time, a HSBC spokesperson said the slope was "committed to moving with our customers to execute a modulation towards a thriving debased c economy".

Meanwhile, a elder HSBC enforcement drew controversy successful May erstwhile helium accused cardinal bankers and different officials of exaggerating the risks of clime change.

Stuart Kirk, who was the planetary caput of liable investing astatine the bank's plus absorption division, said: "There's ever immoderate seed occupation telling maine astir the extremity of the world."

His role, which was based successful London, progressive considering the interaction of investments connected environmental, societal and governance issues.

In July, Mr Kirk resigned from the bank and said that his comments had made his presumption "unsustainable".