Leading Watchdog Rules Out HSBC's Advertisements as 'Greenwashing'by Pranav Gaba | 20-10-2022 23:27 |
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 [OCTOBER FREE REPORT] A good news has recently came from London which will taste sweet to environment public and enthusiasts. The leading advertisement watchdog ASA - Advertising Standards Authority - has made a ruling against greenwashing efforts by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Bank followed by dozens of complaints over posters that appeared on high streets and bus-stops in the lead-up to the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow last October.
The ruling has come months after HSBC was forced to suspend a senior banker named Stuart Kirk who referred to climate crisis warnings as 'unsubstantiated' and 'shrill'. Kirk was HSBC's head of responsible investing who quit in May this year after giving a presentation in London titled "why investors need not worry about climate risk", in which he complained about having to spend time "looking at something that's going to happen in 20 or 30 years"; commenting on which, Noel Quinn, the conglomerate's chief executive said they did not reflect the bank's views on the climate urgency. The watchdog said the adverts which highlighted the bank's plan to invest 1 trillion dollars in climate-friendly initiatives such as tree-planting, failed to acknowledge HSBC's own contribution to emissions. According to The Guardian, in the words of the ASA, "Despite the initiatives highlighted in the ads.. HSBC was continuing to significantly finance investments in businesses and industries that emitted notable levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. We did not consider consumers would know that was the case. We concluded that the ads omitted material information and were therefore misleading." 1 The ASA also noted that HSBC's latest annual report said its financed emissions - clients and projects it provided loans and services to - were linked to the release of 65.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year which accounted only for its oil and gas clients not taking into note other carbon-heavy industries such as construction, transport, coal mining etc. Environment and campaign groups welcomed the ASA's ruling with one of the lead complainants, Adfree Cities, as per The Guardian, stating it as a "significant moment in the fight to prevent banks from greenwashing their image." 2 Also, in what can be termed as an ironic incidence, HSBC ran global workshops for staff on how to spot and deal with greenwashing risks through its online only Climate Action Network Festival this week only to have its advertisement banned by the advertisisng regulator for greenwashing. References:- 1. Makortoff, K. (2022, October 19). Watchdog bans HSBC climate ads in fresh blow to bank¡¯s green credentials. The Guardian. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/business/2022/oct/19/watchdog-bans-hsbc-ads-green-cop26-climate-crisis 2. Makortoff, K. (2022, October 19). Watchdog bans HSBC climate ads in fresh blow to bank¡¯s green credentials. The Guardian. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from crisis 3. Ormesher, E. (2022, October 19). HSBC ads among latest ruled to be greenwashing by ASA. The Drum. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.thedrum.com/news/2022/10/19/hsbc-ads-among-latest-ruled-be-greenwashing-asa Image Link:- |
