Sky cleared over carbon-neutral ads

Mark Sweney
guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday July 9, 2008

BSkyB has survived a challenge to its much-hyped carbon-neutral status after the advertising regulator rejected complaints about its first TV ad trumpeting its eco policy.
The TV ad, which featured an animated character called Cool Cat singing Three Dog Night's Joy To The World, promoted Sky's eco-friendly policies, first introduced in 2006.
Two national press ads also promoted the fact that "Sky is a CarbonNeutral company".
The Advertising Standards Authority received four complaints challenging whether the satellite broadcaster could substantiate that it was carbon neutral.
Complainants argued that the installation of satellite dishes required engineers travelling in carbon-emitting vans and that Sky had not included emissions produced by set-top boxes, so the figures were inaccurate.
Sky said its claim related to achieving carbon neutrality working with the CarbonNeutral Company.
This meant a measurement of Sky's carbon footprint had been taken, "operational steps" had been taken to reduce it and offsets purchased to counteract remaining emissions.
Sky said it included emissions from employee business travel and company-owned vehicles, but not set-top boxes because they were not within the company's "direct control".
In its ruling the ASA noted that "Sky had taken steps to reduce to net zero the carbon emissions from its business activities that were within its reasonable control and offset any remaining emissions through robust and verifiable schemes."
The ASA took independent advice to evaluate Sky's claim that it was carbon neutral against "generally accepted best practice".
This adviser concluded that by including some things out of Sky's "direct control", such as business travel, it had "sought to go above and beyond generally accepted best practice".
The ASA concluded that the ads were not misleading and that Sky had substantiated its claims about carbon neutrality.
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