After misleading advertising about the sale of green hydrogen, Shell was warned by the RCC of the Netherlands. The company had already been warned before due to another misleading advertisement in Brazilian territory
Shell was warned for false advertising for the second time in six months by Dutch authorities RCC advertising standards. This time the authority upheld two complaints from members of the public who complained about a Shell ad claiming "we've made millions of kilometers cleaner" by offering green hydrogen to power buses, cars and trucks. The RCC claims that there were several problems with the ad.
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Check out the problems caused by Shell's misleading advertising
First, the RCC highlighted that green hydrogen is misleading because it is a by-product of chlorine production and despite being certified as not harmful to the environment, it is not what the consumer would really consider green. In addition, the term "millions" in the false advertising has not yet been confirmed by Shell itself, which has not been able to provide sufficient evidence of how many kilometers are traveled using hydrogen.
According to the commission, the announcement suggests a significant contribution, however this is currently modest compared to the total kilometers that were driven. Shell said it would study the verdict before responding, saying it is becoming one of the biggest drivers of the switch to renewables in the Netherlands.
At the end of August, the RCC claimed that another Shell campaign was misleading, but this time not about green hydrogen, but about offsetting carbon dioxide emissions as well.
Shell was fined in Santa Catarina in August
In August last year, consumers from São Bento do Sul sought the Public Ministry after discounts were not presented by the fuel network. The company was offering discounts through an application, but consumers in the city could not use them, having to pay the full price of the product.
According to the director of Procon in the municipality, Allison Ricardo do Prado, at the time, there were several consumers complaining that the application did not work. Consumers filled the tank and always at the time of payment, the purchase came out with the full price and no discount. Therefore, the practice was considered as misleading advertising.
Before applying the fine, the entity tried to conciliate, seeking the company to obtain explanations regarding the problem. However, Procon claims that Raízen SA (Shell Brasil) did not appear and filed information after the estimated deadline.
Petrobras is also accused of false advertising about the price of gasoline
In September, the State Attorney General of 11 states and the DF filed a public civil action seeking the removal of misleading advertising on the Petrobras website regarding the price of gasoline.
The advertising text informs that Petrobras receives only R$ 2 of every R$ 6 that is paid by consumers per liter of gasoline, as a way of blaming the high price on the collection of ICMS from the states.
The public civil action was signed by the following states: Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul, Pernambuco, Pará, Maranhão, Piauí, Amazonas, Sergipe, Espírito Santo, Amapá, Goiás, Minas Gerais and the Federal District.
