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Misleading advertising campaign. That’s what South Africa’s advertising regulator said about the way Total Energy promoted sustainability in an advertising campaign.
Complaint filed by Fossil Free SA
The campaign, which was created in partnership with South Africa’s conservation agency Sanparks, aims to encourage people to visit the country’s national parks. Called #FuelYourExperience, TotalEnergies claims to be “committed to sustainable development and environmental protection.”
“That’s why we’ve worked with Sanparks for over 60 years, so that South Africans can appreciate our country’s natural heritage and pass on a love of the environment to their children,” the ad continued. But according to the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB), this claim is misleading and could suggest that all of the company’s activities are “sustainable”.
The authority added in its August 14 ruling, following a complaint by the Fossil Free SA association, that there was “no evidence of a link between Sanparks’ support and any definition of sustainable development”.
“Advertisers’ core business is directly at odds with sustainability issues”
She further noted that if many of TotalEnergies’ projects are oriented towards sustainability, then “there is no doubt that the advertiser’s core business is directly opposed to sustainability issues, to the extent that the continued extraction of fossil fuels” runs counter to this goal.
ARB CEO Gail Schimmel said TotalEnergies has the option to appeal but has not indicated it plans to do so. While there is no “greenwashing” category in the ARB’s code of conduct, the complaint is the first the agency has received of this nature. Gayle However, the official clarified that even though this decision may trigger more complaints about related issues
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