FAB launches SA's first report on fossil fuel industry greenwashing
"Smoke and Mirrors" unpacks how Sasol, Shell, TotalEnergies and other fossil fuel companies mislead millions of us every month
Are you unclear about what constitutes greenwashing by fossil fuel companies, and where you’re seeing it?
Our Fossil Ad Ban (FAB) project has conducted landmark research and published a report – the first of its kind in South Africa – on its findings, which provide some answers to these questions. It also proposes measures for addressing greenwashing.
Called “Smoke and Mirrors: decoding fossil fuel industry advertising in South Africa,” the report was launched in Cape Town on Wednesday 26 February 2025. To build an evidence base for the report, the researchers examined 200 advertisements placed in TV, print, radio, online and outdoor media between late May and the end of August 2024 by six fossil fuel companies: Astron, BP, Engen, Sasol, Shell and TotalEnergies,
Most of us have probably spotted these adverts: they typically portray solar or wind farms, joyous moments shared by friends and families, fuel stations as safe havens, images of nature and pictures of scientists at work. The overall impression is one of fossil fuel companies’ great benevolence.
A different reality
All these images are forms of greenwashing, FAB concludes, as they create the impression that these companies are committed to producing renewable energy, ensuring people’s wellbeing, safeguarding the environment and/or finding real solutions to the challenges that society faces.
Sadly, the reality is very different. Fossil fuel companies are investing a negligible amount in renewable energy − which is accepted by all reputable authorities as the only sustainable energy source, and one that must be expanded fast to meet global emissions-reduction targets − while continuing to to expand their fossil fuel activities.
Fossil fuels remain the leading cause of climate, producing 90% of dangerous climate-busting carbon emissions, with over 50% of emissions coming from just 36 companies. Many of these, such as BP, are now backtracking on what little progress they have made on emissions reductions.
Fossil fuel companies are knowingly escalating the climate crisis in pursuit of short-term easy profits, which is destroying a rising number of people’s lives, along with the natural environment that they depend upon. Said FAB campaigner Thameena Dhansay:
“Fossil fuel companies use greenwashing to convince us all that their activities benefit us, which gives them a ‘social licence’ to continue with business as usual and delay climate action. Our report is a critical first step in identifying these deceptive practices, informing the public and policymakers about them, and pushing for accountability.”
Token commitments
FAB Campaign Manager Lazola Kati commented:
“Looking at these ads, you’d think fossil fuel companies were in the business of producing wind turbines, solar panels, or even picnic blankets − but that’s pure deception. The vast majority of their projects and investments remain in fossil fuels, with only token commitments to renewable energy. They are actively working against the very things that the adverts depict, but want to benefit from the image of positivity and sustainability.”
The report recommends that the interpretation of greenwashing should be expanded from clearly false environmental claims, as is used currently in business, law and advertising, to include deceptive imagery and language, and that fossil fuel companies should be investigated for greenwashing over all their misleading advertisements.
FAB’s larger mission is to persuade the City of Cape Town as a start, and ultimately all of South Africa, to ban fossil fuel advertisements, as happened for the tobacco industry in the past. This would be in line with a call from the United Nations and follow in the footsteps of France and The Hague.
Greenwashing encompasses diversion and distraction
Conventional definitions of greenwashing, which tend to focus on specific misleading product claims, do not cover most current fossil fuel industry propaganda. This avoids making product-specific claims and seeks to simply to build positive public associations with their brands, while never disclosing the full-scale of the damage they are doing.
Fossil Free SA director David Le Page argues for an expanded definition of fossil fuel industry greenwashing:
“Greenwashing in the fossil fuel industry context includes all advertising, sponsorship and promotion that does not explicitly and visibly describe or reference the full scale of their climate, environmental and human rights impacts.”
A growing movement
The Hague recently became the first city to ban public advertisements for high-carbon industries, including petrol, diesel, and aviation. Speaking at the launch of the FAB report, Martine Dopppen of Reclame Fossielvrij (Fossil Free Advertising) emphasised that a movement was growing, noting that 50 campaigns worldwide are pushing for similar bans, with over 20 municipalities starting to take action. “I hope Cape Town and other South African cities will follow.”
The Good Party supports a fossil ad ban
The GOOD Party is the first political party to endorse the FAB campaign. GOOD’s National Youth Organiser Kaden Arguile also spoke at the launch, reaffirming the party’s stated dedication to environmental reform and its support of FAB. “Fossil fuel propaganda is causing a green future to slip away from us… The concept of a fossil ad ban needs to be amplified.”
Political parties and non-governmental organisations should collaborate to spread this message, he said.
The Fossil Ad Ban calls on individuals, organisations, businesses, and government entities to support action against greenwashing in South Africa:
In more news, the Clean Creatives campaign that FFSA hosts in South Africa is holding a Climate Mixer on Thursday 13 March in Cape Town, to advance the conversation on the creative industry’s transition away from fossil fuel clients. You’ll be able to collaborate, network and learn from other creatives and agency leaders who are navigating this journey.
Find out more here and RSVP here.
Did you know?
The concept of a personal “carbon footprint” was developed by oil company BP in the 2000s as part of a PR campaign.
A new study by Carbon Majors shows that half of the world’s emissions come from just 36 fossil fuel companies. The findings provided evidence supporting laws passed in New York and Vermont states in the US, which seek compensation from fossil fuel companies for climate damages.
If you’re concerned about the climate, you’ve have good company! The great majority of public in SA and in countries across the world want far stronger action on climate and support the idea of a Wellbeing Economy. Research by Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance, conducted by market research group Ipsos finds, found that 83% of South Africans (and 62% of Americans) believe that carbon emissions must be slashed in the next decade, while 78% want a Wellbeing Economy.