12:13 PM EDT, 08/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- South Africa's Advertising Regulatory Board said a TotalEnergies (TTE) ad related to the company's support of South African National Parks had a "misleading" claim related to the company's commitment to sustainable development.

"The claim 'sustainable development' in the context of the Sanparks support is misleading," the regulator said.

The regulator said in a document posted on its website that it was asked to consider a complaint filed against an ad on TotalEnergies' website.

According to the watchdog, the complainant said the "ad claims that TotalEnergies is 'committed to sustainable development and environmental protection.'"

"This is a completely false and misleading claim, which we believe constitutes greenwashing. TotalEnergies is lying to the public about the nature of their business," the complainant told the regulator.

In response to the complaint, TotalEnergies told the regulator that "the stated commitment to sustainable development and environmental protection is not false nor misleading as, on the contrary, it is grounded in the company's general strategy and policies, as proven by concrete actions and results displayed publicly for stakeholders."

TotalEnergies didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by MT Newswires.

Bloomberg first reported the news earlier Wednesday.

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