Advertising: Proactive steps

As one of the key regulators in the media sector, The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has, historically, been more reactive than proactive. But this has changed. ‘The move from reactive to proactive is a journey we’ve been on since 2014,’ says Guy Parker, the ASA’s Chief Executive. ‘We’ve made really big strides. Far less of our resource is now spent dealing reactively with complaints from the public.’

Part of that shift involves climate change. ‘For the ASA, the focus is: what contribution should advertising regulations make to us hitting the climate change targets that we have set ourselves, which have become more demanding with the 78% carbon reduction by 2035 target,’ he says. 

The challenge, notes Parker, is to identify the priority areas that the ASA should look at. ‘Where humans are contributing to bad environmental impacts: aviation, food, cars and heating are four big areas that have been identified as priorities for behavioural change in various reports by the Climate Change Committee, among others,’ he says. ‘That gives us a steer on where we should be looking.’ 

Parker adds: ‘The ASA tries to reflect society, rather than socially engineer society. This government and future governments are going to be legally held to some incredibly demanding climate change targets. That makes our life easier because the case for change has been made. We then have to decide, looking at the evidence, being thoughtful, taking soundings from experts, what that change looks like. There’s a legitimate question about whether ad regulation needs to play a part in that change. Businesses want to do the right thing, and promote more sustainable behaviour, not because they’re held to that by a code that we police, but because it fits with their ESG strategy, their commitments, and their contracts with their consumers.’ 

Last November, the Advertising Association (AA) launched its Ad Net Zero plan, which aims to get the advertising industry to commit to minimise its carbon footprint in the creation of ads. This year, the ASA and CAP are undertaking a Climate Change and the Environment project, taking stock of the rules regulating environmental claims (some guidance having recently been issued by the CMA). ‘We’re not just looking at green claims, we’re also looking at broader environmental messages, unsustainable consumer behaviours, the extent to which advertising is contributing to that,’ says Parker. ‘In the next few years, it will be universally accepted that ad regulation has a role to play, where it doesn’t at the moment.’ But there is only so much that the ASA can do, even on a more proactive basis without legislative change. 

Stuart Helmer, head of advertising and marketing at CMS London, comments: “We have seen regulators, including the ASA, taking a firmer line against unsubstantiated environmental claims in recent years. Often this benefits big brands, who can get wild claims often made by disruptor companies taken down. But a realignment of advertising regulation to discourage overconsumption generally would be a significant step beyond the ASA’s normal function of curtailing misleading advertising, and could have far-reaching effects on the industry. While there is only so much that the ASA can do, even on a more proactive basis, without legislative change, the CMA’s recent publication of guidance on greenwashing may indicate a firmer line from the ASA’s “backstop” regulator. Advertisers should keep a close eye on the outcome of the ASA review.”