Consumer NZ takes legal action against fuel firm

“We are seriously concerned that Z Energy has made numerous public claims ...”

Consumer NZ

Consumer NZ says it is seeking declarations from the High Court that Z Energy has breached the Fair Trading Act with misleading public messaging.

“We are seriously concerned that Z Energy has made numerous public claims which create the impression it is making bold changes to significantly reduce its emissions and is urgently mitigating its contribution to the climate crisis. In reality this is not the case at all.”

Consumer is making the claims along with the Environmental Law Initiative (ELI) and Lawyers for Climate Action New Zealand Inc (LCANZI).

It pointed to Z Energy’s advertising with slogans including, “we’re in the business of getting out of the petrol business”, and Z is “well on track to achieving [its] carbon reduction targets”.

Consumer said Z Energy’s fossil fuel sales and carbon emissions were in fact increasing.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Z Energy acknowledged the statement of claim.

“We take the claim made against Z extremely seriously and are now working to consider our response.”

Consumer said other claims it had concerns about included having Z built a biofuel plant and rapidly expanding its electric vehicle charging network.

“Z Energy’s biofuel plant stopped operating in 2020 and shut down completely in 2022,” Duffy said.

“EV chargers have only been installed in a small percentage of Z’s outlets and its former chief executive publicly said fast chargers on forecourts are not a long-term transition option for Z Energy.”

Duffy said his organisation, ELI and LCANZI were concerned that Z was capitalising on New Zealanders’ concerns about the climate.

“From what we can see publicly, there is nothing particularly bold or urgent about Z Energy’s approach to getting out of the petrol business, raising concerns that its actions are at odds with its stated intent.”

He said, according to Consumer’s own research, nine in ten New Zealanders place some importance on a product’s green claims being verified before it is sold.

But nearly half of New Zealanders found it difficult to tell the truthfulness of a product’s environmental or “green” claims, and around three-quarters had never checked “green claims to see if they were accurate.

“We want the courts to consider whether Z Energy’s messaging to the public has been misleading. We believe, even though its stated intent may be to ‘get out of the petrol business’, so far, its actions do not live up to that intent.

“It’s heartening that Z Energy has such positive aspirations, but it needs to be able to substantiate any claims it makes, because we know consumers will trust them.”