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Cases / Agriculture, livestock and food · United Kingdom · 2022

UK Advertising Standards Authority upholds complaints about Tesco Plant Chef "even better for the planet" advertisements (8 June 2022)

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
Things were done in my name here. No one has measured what reached me.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
In my name
  • Advertising Standards Authority (UK) found that a claim made in my name was misleading. The claim was: “Good for your pocket, even better for the planet” Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

On 8 June 2022 the UK Advertising Standards Authority ruled on six Tesco Plant Chef advertisements (171 complaints). It found that Tesco held no evidence on the full lifecycle of any Plant Chef product and that the claims were not substantiated and were likely to mislead.

Ads must not appear againUK ASA ruling on Tesco Plant Chef
Ruling of 8 June 2022, complaint reference G21-1128264; 171 complaints. The ruling page records no fine.

Status As of October 2026: the ASA ruled on 8 June 2022 that the Tesco Plant Chef claims were not substantiated and likely to mislead and that the ads must not appear again in their current form; the ruling page records no fine.

What?
The ASA upheld complaints about six Tesco Plant Chef ads with the claims "a little swap can make a difference to the planet" and "even better for the planet". Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
Where?
United Kingdom (advertising regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority). Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
When?
Ruling of 8 June 2022; ads seen October-November 2021. Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Tesco held no evidence on the full lifecycle of any Plant Chef product, so the claims were not substantiated and were likely to mislead. Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
How?
A ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority under the CAP and BCAP Codes; the ads must not appear again in their current form. No fine is recorded. Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who

What happened

The record, in order.

On 8 June 2022 the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled on six Tesco ads for its Plant Chef range seen in October and November 2021 on television, video on demand, radio, in the press, on Twitter and on the Tesco website (complaint reference G21-1128264; 171 complaints). The claims challenged were "a little swap can make a difference to the planet" and "even better for the planet" (radio: "Good for your pocket, even better for the planet").

The ASA accepted that plant-based diets generally have a lower environmental impact than meat-heavy diets, but noted that specific processed plant-based products may have high impacts. It recorded that Tesco "did not hold any evidence in relation to the full lifecycle" of the products in the Plant Chef range or of the burger featured in the ads. It concluded that "the claims regarding their positive benefits to the planet had not been substantiated" and "were likely to mislead".

The ruling states: "Ads (a) to (f) must not appear again in their current form." Tesco was told not to make environmental claims about its products unless it held sufficient evidence, and to make the basis of any environmental claims clear.

  1. 2022ASA rules on Tesco Plant Chef ads (G21-1128264): claims not substantiated and likely to mislead; no evidence on the full lifecycle of the products; ads must not appear again in their current form (8 June)

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Plant Chef ads on television, video on demand, radio, press, Twitter and the Tesco website promoting price cuts and the claims "a little swap can make a difference to the planet" and "even better for the planet"; the website included a statistic on CO2 savings from swapping beef for plant-based alternatives.
    Tesco · Advertising Standards Authority (UK)

Recorded

  • The ASA upheld all three issues: Tesco held no evidence on the full lifecycle of any Plant Chef product, the claims had not been substantiated and were likely to mislead (G21-1128264).
    Advertising Standards Authority (UK)

In nature's name

What was promised in nature's name, the money that moved, and what was measured.

Promised

  • “Good for your pocket, even better for the planet” — Tesco, Plant Chef radio and Twitter ads (as recorded in the ASA ruling) (Seen October-November 2021) Advertising Standards Authority (UK)

What was measured

Not measured

The case concerns an advertising claim. The ASA ruling records no independent measurement of any benefit to nature from the advertised product or business.

Findings on record

  • Court or regulator ruling Advertising Standards Authority (UK) (2022-06-08) · G21-1128264: “the claims regarding their positive benefits to the planet had not been substantiated” Advertising Standards Authority (UK)

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2022-06-08Claimant won
    ASA ruling on Tesco Plant Chef advertisements
    Advertising Standards Authority (UK) · Regulatory · 171 complainants (not named) → Tesco Stores Ltd

    Upheld on all three issues: Tesco held no evidence on the full lifecycle of any Plant Chef product, and the claims had not been substantiated and were likely to mislead. Ads (a) to (f) must not appear again in their current form. Reference G21-1128264. Advertising Standards Authority (UK)

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

Record

  • None on record The ruling page records no fine and does not state whether any appeal followed.
  • None on record The CAP Code and BCAP Code rule numbers cited on the ruling page (BCAP 3.1, 3.2, 3.9, 9.2, 9.4, 9.5; CAP 3.1, 3.3, 3.7, 11.1, 11.3, 11.4) were not confirmed against the official code texts.

Did the harm stop?

The ASA required that ads (a) to (f) must not appear again in their current form. The ruling page does not state whether any environmental measure was affected.

Who paid?

The ruling page records no fine or payment.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

Government and regulators

  1. ASA Ruling on Tesco Stores Ltd t/a Tesco
    Advertising Standards Authority (UK) · 2022-06-08

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
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