Dutch scientific council for government policy (WRR): regulation needed for harmful ads

The Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) is critical of advertising for harmful products and greenwashing. The WRR advises the government to impose requirements on advertising in addition to higher prices. In doing so, the WRR follows a TNO recommendation to limit climate-damaging advertising.

"Persistent buying patterns cannot be broken through higher prices alone. This also requires requirements on transparency, advertising and supply in shops and supermarkets." In its report Good Business - Goede Zaken (pdf in Dutch) released today, the WRR advises the government to impose requirements on harmful advertising. In this context, the WRR mentions "unhealthy and unsustainable food products, resource depletion and CO2 emissions".

Greenwashing
The WRR is also critical of greenwashing: "Moreover, there is a real risk that activities under the banner of CSR or People, Planet & Profit turn out to be glorified marketing. For example, large oil and gas companies claim to be committed to clean energy or 'net zero' emissions, while this is only reflected to a limited extent in their investments. The quality of offsetting schemes such as carbon credits used by them is controversial and this poses the threat of greenwashing: companies paint a rosier picture of their social impact than is justified."

TNO: limit climate-taxing advertisements
In recommending requirements for harmful advertising, the WRR echoes TNO's advice to limit climate-taxing advertisements. TNO made the comparison with the ban on tobacco advertising and the tobacco industry. TNO wrote this in the report 'Consuming differently to meet climate goals' (pdf in Dutch) published in March 2023.