Greenpeace says Shell is tricking drivers with its carbon neutral campaign

By: Canada's National Observer
Posted Friday, Nov. 12, 2021


The advertisements being challenged are part of Shell Canada’s Drive Carbon Neutral program, which launched in November 2020. (Szabolcs Toth / Unsplash)

If you find yourself filling up at a Shell station across Canada, you’ll likely be greeted by an ad, one that ensures you can drive "carbon neutral" if you participate in a program from the company.

Or perhaps, you’ll stumble on a video, which shows a family circling around a city in a grey SUV, eventually ending up at a Shell station during the peak of golden hour. "See the difference driving carbon neutral can make" pops up on the screen.

The advertisements are for Shell Canada’s Drive Carbon Neutral program, which launched in November 2020. A company press release said from Dec. 31, 2020 onwards, customers at its pumps can contribute two cents per litre to various carbon offset projects.

That program and its claims of carbon neutrality will be challenged Wednesday when environmental group Greenpeace is set to file a complaint to the Competition Bureau of Canada. The group argues the Drive Carbon Neutral program is greenwashing and is therefore tricking customers into participating in an initiative with false claims, which it says goes against the Competition Act: a federal law governing the majority of business conduct in the country.

To read more of this story first reported by Canada's National Observer, click here.