TotalEnergies pushed back against “all those who want to continue accusing us of ‘greenwashing’,” following a ruling by a Paris court last week that claims made by the French energy giant on its website about its ambitions regarding its role in the energy transition and its carbon neutrality goals were likely to mislead consumers.
In a statement published by the company following the ruling, TotalEnergies said that it “acknowledges the decision” of the court, but noted that the court rejected most of the claims brought against the company, including dismissing requests around a communication campaign linked to its name change from “Total” in 2021, and about the company’s promotion of gas as a less carbon-intensive fossil fuel, and of biofuel as a low-carbon alternative.
The case, based on a lawsuit filed by Greenpeace France, Friends of the Earth France and Notre Affaire a Tous, and supported by environmental law organization ClientEarth in 2022, argued that TotalEnergies’ “reinvention” campaign, in which the company claimed to be “a major player in the energy transition,” and noted its 2050 net zero ambition, falsely portrayed the company as being on track to address the climate crisis.
In its judgement, the courtfound that TotalEnergies committed deceptive commercial practices by making claims on its website about its “ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050” and “to be a major player in the energy transition,” which were likely to mislead consumers about the company’s environmental commitments.
The court ordered the company to end communication from its website of the above statements, as well as claims such as “We place sustainable development at the heart of our strategy, our projects, and our operations to contribute to the well-being of populations…” and “More energy, fewer emissions: this is the dual challenge we must take on alongside our stakeholders to contribute to the sustainable development of the planet and address the climate challenge…,” giving the company one month to comply, after which it would be fined €10,000 per day.
In its statement, TotalEnergies highlighted that the judgement only focused on three paragraphs on the customer website of its French subsidiary, criticizing the company “for not having specified the scenario on which TotalEnergies’ multi-energy (oil, gas, electricity) transition strategy is based.”
TotalEnergies said that it will not appeal the ruling, and that it will replace the paragraphs on its website with a more factual description of its accomplishments in the implementation of its multi-energy strategy.
The company’s statement continued to highlight its energy transition activities to date, including having invested more than €20 billion in low-carbon energy globally since 2020, increasing electricity production from near-zero in 2020 to 50 TWh currently, with 32 GW of gross installed renewable energy capacity, installing nearly 1,900 EV charging points in France, being chosen to build France’s largest-ever renewable energy project, with the offshore wind project representing a €4.5 billion investment, investing nearly €1 billion in biorefineries in France to produce biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel, and having reduced greenhouse gas emissions from its oil and gas facilities by 36% between 2015 and 2024, and methane emissions by 55% since 2020.
TotalEnergies said:
“With all due respect to all those who want to continue accusing us of “greenwashing” despite everything we have already accomplished for the energy transition in France and around the world, we are proud to put all our energies into serving the daily lives of our customers, to contribute to global energy security, and to participate in the construction of the energy system of tomorrow.”
