Is Saab’s “green” claim truthful?
Saab was told to stop portraying its cars as environmentally friendly or face legal action for misleading advertising, reported EU Business.
A summons, instigated by Friends of the Earth Europe and delivered by bailiff to Saab’s Belgian office, calls on the company to remove all wording and imagery from its website and brochures which associate its cars with nature or the protection of the environment, the report said. Also, the Swedish automaker must also withdraw false claims that driving a company’s car reduces CO2 emissions.
Friends of the Earth Europe also mentioned in the document that the automaker does not display the CO2 emissions or fuel consumption figures of its ‘Biopower’ engines on its website or in its brochures. The said omission is a violation of Belgian and European law.
The manufacturer of Saab 9-5 radiators has 8 days to comply with the demands. Lapse of the period would pave the way for the filing of a complaint by Friends of the Earth Europe.
"Saab is the latest carmaker to engage in ‘greenwash’ advertising designed to enhance its green credentials. Instead of fooling consumers thatits cars don’t damage the environment, Saab should be making real efforts to improve the fuel efficiency of its vehicles," said Jeroen Verhoeven, the car efficiency campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe.
The action by Friends of the Earth Europe follows a ruling promulgated in November 2007 by the Belgian advertising standards authority. The ruling said that Saab must cease an advertisement campaign in which it claimed its ‘Biopower’ cars made the roads, "finally turn green".
The said advertisement is deemed in breach of the environmental advertisement code which precludes advertisers from implying a product has no impact on the environment, unless it is otherwise proven.
Despite the ruling Saab has continued to claim on its website and in its brochures that a car with a ‘Biopower’ engine will provide drivers with a "clean conscience" about its environmental impact. Saab backs up this assertion by stating that driving a car which runs on E85, a mix of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, will slash its CO2 emissions by 80%.
"Saab is using ethanol as a green alibi to cover up the fact that it is failing to significantly reduce the fuel consumption of it cars," Verhoeven added.
As opposed to the automaker’s claims, the environmental performance of Saab’s vehicles is poor. Saab cars rank among the worst, rating from mediocre to very poor, according to the official fuel consumption data.