UPDATE: Decision released on Mazda greenwashing complaint

Earlier this month, Lawyers for Climate Action NZ filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority alleging that Mazda New Zealand was misleading consumers about the environmental effectiveness of its tree-planting programme.

Mazda has since withdrawn challenged statements from their website, including the claim that “Over each vehicle’s 5-year warranty term, these 5 trees will [..] mitigate any environmental impact from CO2 emissions…”. As a result, the Complaints Board has treated the complaint as settled.

This outcome matters. As we said at the time of filing the complaint, Mazda’s depiction of the benefits of its tree-planting programme was, in our view, textbook greenwashing. Statements of this nature allow companies to benefit from the New Zealand public’s general concern about climate change, while overstating the real benefits of these programmes. That is unfair to both consumers trying to make informed choices and to businesses making more careful and accurate environmental claims. Courts across the world are grappling with how forestry offsetting and planting are advertised to consumers. Just last year, one of Australia's largest energy firms issued an apology to more than 400,000 customers, acknowledging that carbon offsets "do not prevent or undo harms" caused by burning fossil fuels following a lawsuit filed by Parents for Climate in Australia. 

Holding the private sector to account for misleading claims is a critical part of our work at Lawyers for Climate Action, increasing corporate accountability. Mazda’s removal of the misleading statements builds on our earlier work, including the ‘landmark’ settlement in our Z Energy greenwashing case last year, and our successful complaint against First Gas. More broadly, scrutiny of greenwashing in New Zealand continues to grow - Greenpeace’s case against Fonterra over Anchor butter’s “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claim, which is still ongoing, is another example of the importance of making robust, clear statements.