On 14 August 2026, the Dutch Advertising Code Committee (RCC) ruled that various advertising claims made by Tata Steel constitute misleading advertising (‘green claims’). The RCC found that Tata Steel had failed to substantiate various advertising claims, including claims about supposed ‘green’ and ‘clean’ steel, as required under the Code for Sustainability Advertising (CDR).
Stichting Gezondheid op1 and Urgenda lodged a complaint with the RCC about advertising claims by Tata Steel in which it claimed that it would produce ‘green’ steel, that it would replace blast furnaces with ‘clean’ technologies, that its ambition is to realize a 40 percent reduction in its CO₂-emissions by 2030 and CO₂-neutral steel production by 2045, and its switch from coal to natural gas and, later, biomethane and/or hydrogen. The RCC found that all these claims violate Article 3.2 of the CDR. This stipulates that sustainability ambitions must not present an overly positive picture of the results achieved to date and those yet to be achieved in the field of sustainability, and that it is misleading to advertise a goal which cannot reasonably be expected to be achieved at any time. Tata Steel was unable to demonstrate that the claims made in these advertisements can be realized. As a result, the RCC found Tata Steel violates the CDR and its advertising is misleading. The RCC recommends that Tata Steel refrain from advertising in this manner in the future.
The press releases from Stichting Gezondheid op1 and Urgenda about the ruling can be read here and here (in Dutch).
Stichting Gezondheid op 1 and Urgenda are represented in these proceedings by Emiel Jurjens and Micky Kusters.
Several media reports on the ruling have appeared in the press (in Dutch):