Two advertising campaigns that falsely suggested car drivers could lessen their impact on the environment have been removed after complaints.
The adverts from multinational energy company Shell and vehicle manufacturer Land Rover were found to be misleading by watchdogs.
Advertising standards authorities in the Netherlands and Ireland concluded that the companies were unable to back up their claims.
Both companies have been told to take down the adverts.
The global energy company has been told it cannot claim that customers can compensate for their car’s CO2 emissions by filling up at its petrol stations.
Shell’s ‘CO2 compensation’ claim promises that fuel purchases with Shell offer a way for car drivers to fully offset the climate impact of their vehicle's CO2 emissions.
The premise for this claim is that the energy company invests in environmental projects that it says contribute to reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
The Dutch Advertising Code Committee (RCC) in the Netherlands ruled that such an absolute claim must be proven and that Shell fails to do so.
The RCC concluded that protecting forests or planting trees does not make up for the climate damage caused by burning fossil fuels.
It comes after complaints filed by university lecturer Clemens Kaupa, Greenpeace Netherlands and Advertising Fossil Free.
Shell has two weeks to appeal.
Last year, the RCC ruled that Shell’s ‘carbon neutral’ campaign, which similarly...
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