HSBC's climate ads were banned for omitting what the bank actually finances

In October 2021, ahead of the COP26 climate summit, HSBC put up two bus-stop posters in London and Bristol. One highlighted the bank's pledge to provide $1 trillion in financing for the net-zero transition. The other said HSBC was planting 2 million trees that would 'lock in 1.25 million tonnes of carbon.' The Advertising Standards Authority received 45 complaints, including one from the campaign group Adfree Cities, arguing the ads omitted material information about HSBC's role in financing fossil fuels.

On October 19, 2022, the ASA upheld the complaints. Its ruling noted that HSBC's financed emissions from oil and gas clients alone were approximately 65.3 million tonnes of CO2 per year, and that the bank intended to continue funding thermal coal until 2030 in OECD countries and 2040 elsewhere. The ASA found the ads breached CAP Code rules 3.1, 3.3 and 11.1 by omitting material information and presenting a misleading picture of the bank's overall environmental impact. The ads were banned and HSBC was told not to run them again in their current form.

HSBC responded that the financial sector has a responsibility to communicate its role in the low-carbon transition. The ruling was part of a broader wave of greenwashing scrutiny by the ASA, which had recently taken action against similar claims by other brands.