Lodewijk Smeehuijzen
Students of our masters’ programme winning case against Shell before Dutch advertising watchdog. See here for international coverage.
In October 2022, the appeal body (College van Beroep) confirmed the decision of the Dutch advertising authority (Reclame Code Commissie) of June 2022 against Shell.
In June, the Reclame Code Commissie had ruled on the second complaint the clinic had lodged against Shell. The complaint concerned the slogan “Compensate your emissions.” The clinic argued that is factually impossible to “compensate” greenhouse gas emissions, which makes the claim misleading for consumers. The Reclame Code Commissie found the complaint to be well-substantiated, and ordered Shell to cease its misleading advertising. Shell appealed against the decision to the College van Beroep, but lost.
The decision was covered in the news:
https://www.trouw.nl/duurzaamheid-economie/shell-kan-claim-over-co2-compensatie-niet-waarmaken~b7f57635/
https://www.bnr.nl/nieuws/duurzaamheid/10492004/shell-verliest-hoger-beroep-over-misleidende-co2-compensatie
