ASA Ruling on Equinor ASA

A national press ad for energy company Equinor, seen in June 2023, stated, “Wind, oil, gas, carbon capture […]” and “IT’S ALL PART OF THE BROADER ENERGY PICTURE”. A footnote at the bottom of the ad stated, “Equinor has been delivering energy solutions to the UK for 40 years, and we are now working to help the UK achieve a smooth energy transition […] we’re producing the oil and gas the UK needs now; and will be powering millions more homes with wind, capturing and storing carbon safely […]. It’s broad energy for a brighter future”. The relevant advertising code stated that unqualified environmental claims could mislead if they omitted significant information. The ad appeared in The Economist magazine, which was read by consumer and business readers, as well as politicians and public policy professionals. The Advertising Standards Authority, therefore, considered members of those groups as the ad’s likely audience. While the ad was not for a directly purchasable product or service, the ASA considered it was likely to raise Equinor’s profile and influence readers’ opinions of Equinor as a brand by increasing awareness of their activities and plans in the UK. However, ads were likely to mislead if they exaggerated the contribution that lower-carbon initiatives played, or would play in the near future, as part of the overall balance of a company's activities when making claims about green initiatives. The claim “Wind, oil, gas, carbon capture” gave equal prominence to each activity. It was likely to be interpreted to mean that carbon capture and energy sourced from windfarms formed a significant proportion of Equinor’s current and near future activities, alongside oil and gas. The ASA considered that further information about the overall proportion of Equinor’s business model, which comprised renewable energy and CCS, should have been included. The omission of this significant information is likely to mislead, in breach of the relevant advertising codes.