Everyone knows how a hybrid car works Honda reported on its website that one of its cars is “fully self-charging.” What do you expect from this car? They also mention that no plug is needed. The Advertising Code Committee says that consumers now know how a hybrid car works. That it can also be self-charging, by storing the energy generated during braking. So far so good . But hey, fully self-charging, is that the same? Not according to the Advertising Code Committee. Because of this, people might think that the charging of the battery is not dependent on the petrol engine at all. Honda therefore had to change the expression. You should not only make environmental claims, you should above all fulfill them. Meeting ISO standards is not enough It should come as no surprise that Shell now knows very well how the Advertising Code Committee works. Shell has also won several times with Phone Number List regard to complaints about environmental claims. But mainly because the complaint turned out to be insufficiently substantiated, while Shell was able to provide sufficient substantiation in return. Now there was a complaint about Shell’s ‘compensation AAN’ program, in which it is reported that you could drive CO2-neutral by paying one cent per liter. The complainant has shown through several scientific studies that full compensation is (probably) not possible. For example, because trees still have to be planted and only provide the right effect later, but also because CO2 credits are mainly bought with them. Shell defends itself by, among other things, reporting that they comply with ISO and other standards. Strict requirements are set for this and those standards have also been drawn up on the basis of scientific research. According to the Advertising Code Committee, this is not sufficient. The claim of full compensation is absolute, but that claim is not fully proven and that is simply not enough. Go green You should not only make environmental claims, you should above all fulfill them. Go green, not just say you are doing it or going to do it. The more absolute the claim, the better and more solid you have to substantiate it. If your claim is more nuanced, less evidence is needed. Making clear comparisons and adding nuance to your claim will help with this.
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