Eneco adjusts commercial communications following instruction from ACM

Eneco is adjusting its commercial communications in response to an instruction from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM - the Dutch competition regulator). The ACM alleged that a general claim used by Eneco, specifically “faster towards climate neutral”, could be unclear to consumers. As Eneco wants to avoid any potential ambiguity, it is now phasing out the claim.

Selina Thurer, member of the Management Board of Eneco: “It is vital that the climate claims made by businesses are subject to scrutiny. This is necessary to prevent consumers from making purchasing decisions based on incorrect assumptions about how products and services contribute to climate neutrality. We believe that Eneco adhered to the ACM's general rules and that our claim of “faster towards climate neutral” amounted to clear communication. The ACM does not share our opinion, however, as it takes the view that consumers could be confused by that claim. We are therefore revising our external communications and phasing out the commercial use of the claim in an effort to avoid any potential confusion.”

This adjustment will not have any impact on Eneco’s strategy. The organisation will also continue to be fully focused on achieving its goal of making itself - and the energy it supplies to all customers - climate neutral by 2035. The One Planet Plan, which was presented in 2021, will continue to be central to Eneco's actions. The ACM has acknowledged that the One Planet Plan describes how Eneco intends to become climate neutral and achieve its sustainability goals in the area of biodiversity and circularity.

It is crucial that the whole of society becomes climate neutral. Eneco will continue to drive this change and will keep reporting on this on a regular basis in its non-commercial communications, such as its annual reports, press releases, speeches and presentations.