The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a claim against greenwashing by Lloyds Banking Group, banning an advert that burnished the bank's environmental credentials but failed to mention its ongoing support for fossil fuel polluting industries.
The claims were brought against the bank by campaigning group Adfree over advertising on a billboard poster and three paid-for posts on the networking website LinkedIn.
While the ASA passed three of the ads as factually acccurate, a fourth post on LinkedIn which detailed steps Lloyds was taking to reduce its carbon footprint was found to have fallen foul of the rules due to wider claims made about Lloyds' financing of clean and renewable energy and contribution ot a low carbon economy.
A video in the ad showed an electric car driving through a suburban setting before entering a more rural area with haybales and a forest. A final scene showed Earth with the text 'Helping Britain Prosper', the word 'Prosper' was shown in green.
In its ruling, the ASA said that investment in and financing of areas of climate risk comprised a notable amount of the company’s activities and would continue to do so in the near future.
"We considered that meant, despite the impression given, Lloyds was continuing to significantly finance businesses and industries that emitted notable levels of carbon dioxide and other green house gasses. That was material information that was likely to affect consumers’ understanding of the ad’s overall message, and so should have been made clear. We therefore concluded that the ad omitted material information and was likely to mislead."
Lloyds is the second of the UK's big banks to fall foul of ASA rulings over greenwashing. HSBC adverts in 2022 highlighted how the bank had invested $1tn in climate-friendly initiatives such as tree-planting and helping clients hit climate targets, but failed to acknowledge the bank’s own contribution to carbon emissions.