Of all the adverts I saw on my phone this week, HSBC’s sustainability ad came out top with the strongest green message. This ad is posted at Victoria Station, London. It says, “Climate change doesn’t do borders.” HSBC portrays itself as an eco-friendly company by informing the general public that it is planting two million trees in a bid to absorb carbon gasses. This ad, however, is a perfect example of what is called a green-washing marketing tool wherein a company exaggerates or misinterprets its environmental efforts.
This is a print ad, which is a still picture; however, it is designed to be very emotional and visually arresting. Right at the center, the logo HSBC sits over a tree-ring-like background of very powerful nature and sustainability motifs. “Climate change doesn’t do borders” evokes a feeling of global responsibility; “Planting trees, claiming climate action” insinuates corporate, direct action on behalf of improving climate change. This ad has few words, so the visual can be the main medium to convey the brand’s identity as “green”.
The message, therefore, of this ad is straightforward: HSBC is a responsible corporate citizen acting to fight against climate change. This advertisement portrays HSBC as an environmentally engaged company planting trees to help in sustainability endeavours. It tries to make the viewer believe that HSBC is an eco-sensitive bank, thereby associating its brand image with ecological responsibility. However, the advertisement would suggest that HSBC tackles climate change but fails to identify its continued financing of fossil fuel industries, significantly contributing to the degradation of the environment.
The ad should finally lead consumers to associate HSBC with green and responsible banking. It would be for reputational and commercial purposes, as by such an environmental stance, HSBC tries to attract ecologically sensitive customers, investors, and policymakers. At a time when the environmental footprint of financial institutions has come increasingly under public scrutiny, this advertisement is most likely to deflect criticism while simultaneously strengthening the market position of HSBC as a “green” financial leader.
I’m a student hence part of the target audience being influenced by the financial choices of today, going to be influenced by a presently increasing awareness of sustainability issues. Young adults and professionals increasingly respect ethical consumerism, and look for branding appealing to such views. HSBC places such adverts in high-traffic areas like Victoria Station, targeted at urban professionals, students and business clients favouring eco-sensitive brands.
The ad struck a chord with me from the first look, as the environmental message went through clearly in an unobtrusive setting. The tree rings and compact text made the message pop right in my consideration for HSBC’s role in sustainability. Researching real environmental policies regarding HSBC altered my perceptions. HSBC has been slammed by many groups due to direct financial relationships which they have engaged with fossil fuel companies. In return, reports show that HSBC has provided billions in financing to coal, oil, and gas industries, an aspect that casts a question on its credibility of sustainability claims. It was such a realization that increased my skepticism towards corporate greenwash and instilled critical thinking into advertisement analysis.
While HSBC has argued, its sustainability initiatives seem to be negligible in balancing their much larger environmental effects. The framework of TerraChoice’s Seven Sins of Greenwashing helps in dissecting the ad of HSBC, wherein it highlights the hidden trade-off where it has emphasized tree planting while ignoring the investments in fossil fuels by HSBC. It involves no proof too, as in the advertisement there is no verifiable data for the environmental performance of the ads nor independent certification. The language is also not specific, since the term “helping to plant trees” does not say anything about what will happen in the future regarding the direct participation of HSBC.
Other examples of HSBC’s greenwashing include its carbon offset strategy through planting trees. Offsetting indeed can be helpful, but it does not tackle the very root of emissions in that HSBC keeps on financing fossil fuels. Research indicates that most carbon offset schemes are used to improve corporate reputations, with minimal impact on climate change. Carrington and Taylor (2019) went on to show that a few firms, including HSBC, were responsible for a large percentage of the carbon emissions in the world, thus challenging the bank’s sustainability narrative.
This critique is also supported by the academic literature. According to de Freitas Netto et al. (2020), greenwashing is usually characterized by selective disclosure: firms highlight their minor eco-friendly initiatives and conceal their general environmental impact. Misleading environmental claims have also been highlighted by TerraChoice (2010) as one of the key problems in companies’ marketing strategies. HSBC’s ad serves as a very good example of this tendency: it has presented a fragmentary story about sustainability but not an accurate reflection of its overall impact.
Overall, the ad by HSBC represents their environmental responsibility one-sidedly and deceptively. The persuasive use of image, emotion, and very limited text creates the illusion of HSBC’s sustainability without critical consideration of the funding of fossil fuel industries by the bank. Thus, while potentially attracting ecologically aware consumers into its clientele in the first place, a close look shows that HSBC’s claims do not match the overall environmental practices the company pursues. This case is a symptom of the broader problem of corporate greenwash that requires further transparency and accountability with real climate action.
Because it is usually emphasized to focus marketing on perception instead of reality, as consumers, we must approach all environmental advertisements with skepticism. This reinforced the point, for me, the importance of research in corporate claims of sustainability, I need to be aware of such marketing in the future, and honestly, hope big corporations have genuine, substantive statements about the environment.
Bibliography
Carrington, Damian, and Matthew Taylor. “Revealed: The 20 Firms Behind a Third of All Carbon Emissions.” The Guardian, October 9, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/09/revealed-20-firms-third-carbon-emissions.
de Freitas Netto, Sérgio Vinícius, et al. “Concepts and Forms of Greenwashing: A Systematic Review.” Environmental Sciences Europe 32, no. 1 (2020): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-020-0300-3.
HSBC Holdings. “Sustainability Commitments.” HSBC Official Website, 2023. https://www.hsbc.com/sustainability/.
Maria Jose Romero
The analysis of the HSBC ad is detailed and well-structured and addresses the greenwashing phenomenon with a critical tone. The analysis, effectively describes the green aspects of the advertisement and explains how HSBC tries to portray a sustainable image while hiding how it helps and supports funding for polluting companies. The analysis breaks down how the ad uses various emotional images to appeal to audiences who value sustainability, yet provides no evidence of the actual impact on the environment.
The main points of the analysis are the contradiction between HSBC’s advertising and its investments in fossil fuels, and how the ad is designed to appeal to consumers concerned about sustainability by using images and phrases.
The use of academic and journalist sources that the analysis uses only reinforces the arguments of the analysis. Its references to sources put the reader in the context of the greenwashing phenomenon and lend further credibility to its analysis.
The analysis could have explored a bit more the impact of the ads on consumer perception and how the ad complies with environmental advertising regulations. It could also do a little more research on HSBC’s sustainability policies, assessing whether there is any legislation to have more green practices.