ASA Uphold Complaint Against Good Energy

By Paul Homewood

 

h/t Philip Bratby

 

 

The Advertising Standards Authority have upheld another complaint against Good Energy:

 

Background

THIS RULING REPLACES THAT PUBLISHED ON 28 FEBRUARY 2018. THE WORDING OF THE ASSESSMENT HAS CHANGED BUT THE DECISION TO UPHOLD REMAINS.

Ad description

A website for Good Energy, http://www.goodenergy.co.uk, seen in September 2017, stated on a page titled Our fuel mix: "At Good Energy, we believe the UK can be powered purely by renewables. We source all our electricity from renewable sources like solar power, wind power and hydroelectric power and biofuels. We always have done and we always will". The text was positioned next to a graphic which displayed Good Energy's fuel mix which it stated was 100% renewables, in comparison to the UK average fuel mix. The page continued with a description of Good Energy's fuel mix.

The page went on to explain "Over the course of the year, energy suppliers must purchase sufficient electricity to feed into the national electricity grid to cover the amount their customers take out. At the end of each year, suppliers must disclose their fuel mix to the electricity and gas regulator, Ofgem. This information is published annually to help consumers make informed choices about their electricity supplier. At Good Energy, we ensure that all the electricity we sell to customers each year is matched 100% with electricity sourced from renewables".

Text underneath the heading "Greenhouse Gas Emissions and nuclear waste" stated "An average unit of electricity in the UK (a kilowatt hour or kWh) results in 360g of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and 0.007g of radioactive waste. But the electricity we supply contains 0g of CO2 and no radioactive waste. This will never change".

Issue

The complainant, who understood that Good Energy made use of biomass energy, which they understood produces more CO2 than coal when burnt, challenged whether the claim that the electricity supplied by Good Energy contained 0 g of CO2 was misleading.

 

The full decision is here.

 

It is a pity the original complaint did not also challenge the notion that even over the life cycle burning biomass is "carbon neutral".

If anybody sees Good Energy making similar dubious claims in future, let me know, and I will contact the ASA.

from Climate Change Skeptic Blogs via hj on Inoreader http://bit.ly/2F66ZDA