BP greenwashing complaint sets precedent for action on misleading ad campaigns

By ClientEarth

July 3, 2020

An OECD complaint filed by  ClientEarth lawyers alleging oil giant BP misled the public in its advertising campaign would have proceeded had the company not already committed to end the ad campaign...

In a decision lawyers say sets a precedent for complaints against corporate greenwashing, the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (NCP) has assessed ClientEarth’s world first complaint as being material and substantiated, despite the complaint not proceeding due to BP ending its ad campaign.

In December 2019, ClientEarth lawyers lodged a complaint alleging BP’s global ‘Keep Advancing’ and ‘Possibilities Everywhere’ ad campaigns misled the public by focusing on BP’s low carbon energy products, when more than 96% of BP’s annual spend is on oil and gas.

In February 2020, BP withdrew its advertisements and its CEO Bernard Looney said they would not be replaced under the company’s new policy promising an end to ‘corporate reputation advertising’. He also committed BP to redirecting its advertising resources towards advocating for progressive climate policies.

Today the NCP, which sits within the UK’s Department for International Trade, released its initial assessment of ClientEarth’s complaint, which will not proceed further given BP has already withdrawn the campaign in question..