On 3 September 2025, the ASA censured four agencies over ads which it said contained misleading environmental claims and banned those ads from appearing again.
The decision is a stark reminder that the ASA continues to monitor environmental claims made in consumer advertising, including using its AI ad monitoring tool, and will take action against those which it determines give a misleading impression of the environmental credentials of the product/service promoted by the ad.
The ASA's decision
The ASA's rulings highlight the pitfalls that advertisers can face when making environmental claims. In this case, these can be divided into two categories; absolute environmental claims and insufficiently supported claims.
Absolute environmental claims
The ASA found that two of the four ads contained absolute claims regarding the environmental impact of the cruises being offered, which were misleading.
These ads made claims that liquefied natural gas, the fuel used in cruise ships, was "the world's cleanest marine fuel" and that the cruise ship "uses new green technologies" (cruise 1st). As for Cruise Circle, the ASA found that the claim "Eco-Friendly LNG technology", when used in combination with the imagery of the ad, containing marine life, constituted an absolute claim that the technology used to power the relevant cruise ship would not be harmful to the environment at any point in its life cycle.
In both cases, the ASA found that the ads did not provide the "high level of substantiation" required to support the absolute environmental claims (CAP Code, rule 11.3). Therefore, and given the ASA's view that cruises and the use of LNG still had a material adverse impact on the environment, it found that the ads were misleading.
Insufficient supporting information
For the remaining two ads, the ASA found them misleading as they provided insufficient detail of the basis on which the environmental claims were made.
In the case of SeaScanner, it claimed that a cruise ship "introduce[d] cutting-edge environmental technology ... making it one of the most eco-friendly cruise ships afloat". The claim hyperlinked to a webpage titled "Eco-Friendly Cruises", stating that the vessel "strives to protect marine life, reduce air emissions and optimise energy".
The ASA found that the overall impression of the ad and the page it hyperlinked was that the cruise ship had an environmental focus and was a better option for the environment than cruising on many other vessels. However, because the ad had not put information regarding the adverse environmental effects of cruise ships into context or provided further detail to explain the role and impact of "environmental technology" in comparison with other operators, the ASA concluded the environmental impact of the advertised cruise ship had not been adequately explained and the ad was likely to mislead.
The ad issued by Barrhead Travel contained no supporting evidence to the claims of "eco-friendly" practices, and therefore the ASA had no trouble finding that it was misleading.
Finally, the ASA also gave short shrift to the travel companies' arguments that the wording of the relevant claims was provided by the cruise provider itself, which the companies copied onto their own websites and ads. This demonstrates that advertisers will be held accountable for all material published by them, whether they drafted it or not.
Broader implications
As noted in our update earlier this year, the ASA has long had combatting misleading environmental claims as a strategic priority. It is therefore not surprising that the ASA took particular exception to the absolute claims used in the ads, saying that the unsubstantiated use of the term "Eco-Friendly LNG Technology" was "unacceptable".
Whilst advertisers have taken heed of the ASA's increased scrutiny and guidance to avoid making misleading environmental claims, research from Greenpeace released in May 2025 suggests that advertisers are still making claims that may draw the attention from the ASA, if not prompt a ruling. Therefore, assisted by its AI monitoring tool to scour the market for misleading advertising, which in 2024 processed over 28 million ads, the ASA will likely continue to hold advertisers to account when they make misleading environmental claims.
Advertisers should take note - whilst the ASA has no power to impose fines or other sanctions, it is able to refer cases to the Competition and Markets Authority who is able to impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover for misleading advertising that breaches consumer law. Therefore, advertisers should read the ASA's guidance and associated decisions carefully before making environmental claims.
Should you have any queries about the update above, or any other contentious ESG related issues - please get in touch.
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