Fossil Free SA lays greenwashing complaint with advertising watchdog against energy company

John Maytham interviews David Le Page, Director of Fossil Free SA.

In the first such case in the country, a wing of Fossil Free South Africa has laid a greenwashing complaint with the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB).

Greenwashing is generally defined as trying to make people believe that your company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is

The complaint targets a promotion on TotalEnergies’ website, around a competition linked to SANParks while 'claiming commitment to sustainable development'.

The energy company invites people to share a photo taken at SANParks and tag both on social media, to win vouchers and a weekend getaway.

John Maytham talks to David Le Page, Director of Fossil Free SA, about the complaint by Fossil Ad Ban.

While most people tend to think about climate change as a large and abstract problem, Le Page says, the reality is something different.

"....the reality is that it's a problem that is caused by a few dozen companies, really 87 fossil fuel companies that produce 70% of the emissions that are the root of the climate change problem."

"... the true nature of what they're doing is to make vast profits for a few people at great expense to the many."

David Le Page, Director - Fossil Free SA

What those companies do, very systematically, he charges, is 'to conceal the nature of their business operations'.

"One of those is TotalEnergies which claims on its website and in a weird, almost surreal partnership with  SANParks, that it is committed to sustainable development and environmental protection - this while continuing to announce new budgets for expanded fossil fuel exploration almost as we speak."

"The association with SANParks we regard as being part of what misleads the general public." 

David Le Page, Director of Fossil Free SA

Le Page says he's been told this is the first greenwashing complaint received by the ARB.

What they'd like to see, he goes on, is that it is very difficult for TottalEnergies to make such 'misleading' claims in future.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion