Belgium
Carbon Market Watch v. FIFA
Jurisdiction: Jury d'éthique publicitaire (JEP)
Side A: Carbon Market Watch (Ngo)
Side B: FIFA (Ngo)
Core objectives: Whether FIFA's promotion of the 2022 World Cup as "carbon neutral" are misleading and false
Summary
The contested advertising concerned FIFA's advertising of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as "carbon neutral". The plaintiff, Carbon Market Watch, argued that this communication was misleading and false and in breach of the rules and codes of the Jury d'éthique publicitaire (JEP).In particular, they argued that the "carbon neutral" nature of this World Cup had not been certified or validated by any independent body; that the methodology used by FIFA to measure its "carbon neutrality" was erroneous and resulted in a significant underestimation; and that FIFA also failed to meet its obligations in terms of offsetting to support its carbon neutrality communication.
Thus, the plaintiff advanced that the advertisement was in breach of articles 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 22, D1, D2, D3 of the ICC Advertising and Marketing Communications Code and articles 1, 3, 7, 8, 10 of the Ecological Advertising Code.
Similar claims have simultaneously been launched in France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. The relevant authorities in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland announced that all five complaints would be examined jointly by the Swiss authorities.
Case documents
from the Grantham Research Institute
from the Grantham Research Institute
