Complaint to Ad Standards on HSBC’s Great Barrier Reef ad

Summary:

On September 16, 2021, a 17-year-old student, Ava Shearer, filed a complaint at Ad Standards, an Australian organization that manages consumer and competitor complaints concerning the country’s self-regulatory advertising codes, against HSBC for a marketing campaign touting its support for protection of the Great Barrier Reef while funding fossil fuel operations. Ms. Shearer claims that HSBC’s ads, which claim to be investing in the reef’s future and “reef credits” to support water quality, are contradicted by its financial links to fossil fuel projects that negatively contribute to the climate crisis. Ad Standards assessed the claim against the Environmental Claims Code which covers truthful and factual presentation, genuine benefit to the environment, and substantiation of claims. On 13 October 2021, Ad Standards dismissed the claim, finding that HSBC had not breached any relevant section of the Environmental Claims Code.

At Issue: Whether HSBC’s campaigns protecting the Great Barrier Reef are considered greenwashing given its links to fossil fuel companies.