Advertising Standards Board rules “zero carbon gas” advertising campaign is misleading

The Advertising Standards Complaints Board has upheld a complaint by Lawyers for Climate Action NZ about an advertising campaign by Firstgas and has ordered the adverts to be withdrawn. The decision is available here. The Firstgas group includes Rockgas, who deliver LPG to approximately 165,000 customers across the country.

In their ads, Firstgas claimed:

“New Zealand’s heading towards zero carbon so we’re ensuring our gas is going zero carbon too. You know what that means for you? Absolutely nothing. You can continue doing what you love. And help change the world, without changing too much of yours. Find out more at gasischanging.co.nz.”

The takeaway for Firstgas customers was that they could continue to use gas, without adding carbon to the atmosphere.

LCANZI complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that the ads were greenwashing. LCANZI Member, Steven Price, who prepared the complaint, considered the ads had “the effect of giving people false comfort and discouraging them from doing what is necessary to avert climate catastrophe: massively reduce consumption of fossil fuel energy sources virtually immediately.”

Burning gas releases carbon dioxide. The Climate Change Commission recommends managing a transition away from natural gas.

Firstgas say they are researching alternative forms of gas such as hydrogen gas and hydrogen/natural gas blended gas. However, Firstgas acknowledged to the ASCB that “any large‑scale changes are still some way off”.

The ASCB upheld the complaint by LCANZI, as well as similar complaints by several individuals, and determined that the ads were unsubstantiated, incorrect, and misleading. It has ordered Firstgas to remove the ads.

LCANZI is really pleased with this result. Steven Price said:

“A huge part of the transition to a zero‑carbon economy is allowing consumers to make low emissions choices. If businesses mislead consumers about how green their products are, they take away consumers’ ability to make an informed choice.”

All businesses need to ensure that any information they give to consumers about the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their products is truthful and accurate or they run the risk of legal liability.

Enquiries about this press release should be directed to LCANZI Member, Steven Price at steven.price@vuw.ac.nz or 022 0262997.