Budweiser clarifies ‘100% renewable electricity’ claim on UK website after complaint to ASA
Budweiser has had to clarify a claim on its website that its beer is brewed using “100% renewable” energy after a complaint.
The complaint was “informally resolved” by the advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), meaning the brewer agreed to substantiate the statement and detail fossil fuel use, and the issue was not made public.
The homepage of Budweiser’s UK website now contains an asterisk beside its “Budweiser is brewed with 100% renewable electricity” statement.
At the bottom of the page, a clarification breaks down the electricity it uses and the renewable electricity it produces.
“The actual electricity used to brew Budweiser is not from 100% renewable sources,” the explanation at the foot of the page has said since March.
It continues: “But Budweiser ensures that an equivalent amount of energy is generated under green energy agreements to offset the amount of non-renewable energy used from the National Grid to power our brewing processes.”
The asterisk note adds that Budweiser’s two sources of renewable energy are an on-site wind turbine directly connected to its brewery in Magor, Wales; and a 20-year agreement for the operation of two solar panel farms, located in Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire, which the company says generate more electricity than its breweries require.
What did the complaint argue?
Earlier this year, before the complaint was assessed by the ASA, the website had simply featured the “100% renewable sources” claim and not given a breakdown of its energy use and production.
It was argued by the complainant, Irish senator Lynn Boylan, that the text was misleading and couldn’t be substantiated.
Anything connected to the National Grid will be powered by electricity from a range of sources that make up Britain’s fuel mix, including wind and solar power as well as nuclear, oil and gas generators.
The proportion of renewables and fossil fuels varies from day to day depending on weather conditions.
It is not possible for electricity created from fossil fuels to be filtered out of the National Grid supply before it enters a particular home or business.
Businesses which say they use “100% renewable electricity” often use a complex trading system whereby certificates are purchased for renewable energy produced somewhere in Europe.
This electricity does not work its way into the UK fuel mix and National Grid.
What is a REGO?
Budweiser, owned by multinational drink company AB InBev, was able to make the “100% renewable” claim as it buys certificates known as renewable energy guarantees of origin (REGO).
The certificates pay for renewable energy produced elsewhere and are designed to encourage renewable energy production.
Budweiser buys REGOs to offset the amount of non-renewable energy used from the National Grid to power its brewing, the website says.
Energy regulator Ofgem has been critical of REGOs.
In a report for a parliamentary debate in 2018, it said: “We also note that suppliers can buy REGOs cheaply, so it is easy and cheap for suppliers to ‘green’ some tariffs.
“As such, our starting point is that simply having renewables in the portfolio is not enough to demonstrate that a tariff is providing support for renewables. We do not have sufficient evidence that existing renewable tariffs provide additional environmental benefit beyond existing renewable generation.”
A government review was launched in 2021 into how energy retailers market ‘green’ electricity tariffs to consumers, a process which involves REGOs.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
‘Few people will read the fine print’
After Budweiser added the clarification to its UK website, the ASA told Sky News: “We considered these changes were sufficient to resolve the matter informally.”
But the complainant, Irish senator Lynn Boylan, has appealed against the ASA’s decision to accept a change of the Budweiser website and not issue a full ruling. She described the regulator’s response as “very disappointing”.
“While my complaint has been vindicated in principle, in practice the consequences for Budweiser (UK) are far too weak,” she said.
“The reality – that fossil fuels are used in brewing Budweiser – is buried while the big lie – that 100% renewables are used – is allowed to continue. Few people will read the fine print to learn the claim is false.”
Ms Boylan’s complaint was submitted to the UK watchdog after a similar grievance was upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland.
AB InBev has been contacted for comment.
Business
Donald Trump tells UK to ‘get rid of windmills’ and says raising windfall tax on North Sea oil is ‘big mistake’
Donald Trump has said the UK is making “a very big mistake” in its fossil fuel policy – and should “get rid of windmills”.
In a post on Friday on his social media platform, Truth Social, Mr Trump shared news from November of a US oil producer pulling out of the North Sea, a major oil-producing region off the Scottish coast.
“The UK is making a very big mistake. Open up the North Sea. Get rid of windmills!”, the US president-elect wrote.
The Texan oil producer Apache said at the time it was withdrawing from the North Sea by 2029 in part due to the increase in windfall tax on fossil fuel producers.
North Sea oil rig. Pic: Reuters
The head of Apache’s parent company APA Corporation said in early November it had concluded the investment required to comply with UK regulations, “coupled with the onerous financial impact of the energy profits levy [windfall tax] makes production of hydrocarbons beyond the year 2029 uneconomic”.
Chief executive John Christmann added that “substantial investment” will be necessary to comply with regulatory requirements.
Mr Trump used a three-word campaign pledge “drill, baby, drill” during his successful election campaign, claiming he will increase oil and gas production during his second administration.
In the October budget announcement, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves raised the windfall tax levied on profits of energy producers to 38%.
Called the energy price levy, it is a rise from the 25% introduced by Rishi Sunak in 2022 as energy prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Many oil and gas businesses reported record profits in the wake of the price hike.
The tax was intended to support households struggling with high gas and electricity bills amid a broader cost of living crisis.
Apache is just one of a glut of firms that made decisions to alter their North Sea extraction due to the Labour policy.
Read more
Business, the economy and the pound in your pocket – what to expect from 2025
Energy bills become more expensive
Even before the new government was elected, three companies, Jersey Oil and Gas, Serica Energy and Neo Energy – announced they were delaying, by a year, the planned start of production at the Buchan oilfield 120 miles to the north-east of Aberdeen.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway