Regulators Are Trying to Stop Greenwashing Before It Gets Worse (1)

In 2021, a series of HSBC advertisements started appearing on bus stops around the UK. Part of a campaign centered on the slogan “Climate change doesn’t do borders,” the posters paired images of trees and ocean waves with statements about the bank’s efforts to finance the transition to net zero and help plant 2 million trees.

Adfree Cities, a campaign group that targets street ads, wasn’t having it. The group complained about the HSBC campaign to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), a UK industry regulator. In its review of the complaint, the ASA found that HSBC had sent $130 billion of financing ...