Mining giant broke environmental Ad Standards rules

September 3, 2025 9:13

Ad Standards has upheld a complaint made against mining giant Alcoa for breaching four sections of the recently introduced Environmental Claims Code.

A print ad in a May edition of the West Australian newspaper outlined “the facts” of how Jarrah Forest in WA’s south-west region can “recover after mining”. The region is one of the world’s most biodiverse temperate forests, hosting over 800 plant species and 10 endangered animal species.

Alcoa, a US-founded mining giant, has been working in the region since the 1960s, and is exempt from most of the state’s environmental legislation. It is instead governed under state agreements which grant it permission to mine about 7,000 square kilometres of forest.

Per the ABC, the company is required to rehabilitate the land it mines before returning it to the state, but according to the WA government, hasn’t done so for any of the 280 square kilometres of forest it has cleared.

Of rehabilitation, the copy in the “Rehabilitation Statement” print ad said: “It’s not only possible, it’s happening. Studies have confirmed that the Jarrah Forest can, and does, recover after mining.”

The ad appeared in a May edition of the West Australian newspaper

The case was brought to Ad Standards by the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA), The Wilderness Society (TWS) and WA Forest Alliance (WAFA).

These groups claimed the print ad is misleading, breaching Sections 1A (be truthful and factual), 1B (not be or likely to be misleading or deceptive), 2 (be supported by evidence), 3B (be specific, broad or unqualified claims avoided), 4 (be of genuine benefit), and/or 5 (future claims be based on reasonable grounds) of the Environmental Claims Code.

The Code came into effect on March 1, 2025. The new set of standards aim to foster transparency in advertising and trust in environmental marketing, complementing the ACCC Guidance on Environmental Claims, which ensures messaging is truthful, clear, and verifiable.

The Environmental Claims expand beyond traditional content, with the Code including images, sounds, and any broad or vague environmental claims.

Alcoa “strongly” rejected the complaint, arguing the “Rehabilitation Statement” does not fit within the Code’s definition of “advertising”; the target consumer would read the whole statement and would understand the contextual use of the word “rehabilitation”; the statement is not misleading and should not require further disclaimers; and the mining company has a reasonable basis for the statement.

Alcoa argued that the West Australian is the state’s only daily print newspaper, and given mining’s “significant contribution” to the WA economy, a high proportion of the target audience for the statement can be expected to have at least some exposure, connection, or interest in the mining and resources sector.

The Community Panel found the print ad breached Section 1, Section 2, Section 3, and Section 4 of the Code.

Section 1 says advertisements must be truthful and factual. The panel found Alcoa to breach this, as “the overall impression created by the advertisement was inaccurate and likely to mislead or deceive target consumers”.

Similarly, Section 2 of the Code says advertisements must be supported by evidence, and “given the presence of conflicting scientific studies”, Alcoa’s claims were not sufficiently supported.

The panel found it to breach Section 3 because the language was “not clear or specific to a point where the target consumer would understand that rehabilitation was an ongoing project which had not been completed”.

Finally, Section 4 says advertisements must be of genuine benefit. The panel said it was unclear to what extent the environmental benefits detailed by the advertiser were, because it was “simply advertising the observance of existing law, as apposed to going beyond it”.

In response, Alcoa said the “Here Are The Facts” campaign has come to an end, and it has no plans to publish the “Rehabilitation Statement” again in the future.

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Lauren McNamara

Lauren McNamara is a freelance journalist contributing to Mumbrella. She previously spent three years at the publication, most recently as the associate editor. She left her staff role at Mumbrella in August 2025.