Tata Steel 'green steel' ads ruled misleading, cabinet waits
In answers to parliamentary questions, the cabinet says it is holding back its response to the advertising watchdog's ruling on Tata Steel Nederland's "green steel" claims until Tata's appeal is decided.
The cabinet is holding back its response to a ruling that Tata Steel Nederland's "green steel" advertising is misleading, because the company has appealed. It said so in answers to written questions from MP Kostić of the Party for the Animals (PvdD), who submitted them on 28 August 2026.
The Advertising Code Committee (Reclame Code Commissie, RCC) found the advertising misleading, unsubstantiated and in breach of the Code for Sustainability Advertising. It upheld complaints from the foundations Gezondheid op 1 and Urgenda. The cabinet confirmed it is aware of the finding.
The cabinet called the RCC an independent foundation that tests complaints about advertising against the advertising codes. It said it is generally a good thing that sustainability claims are tested this way: "people have a right to honest and transparent information". Because Tata Steel Nederland has appealed, the cabinet is "at this moment restrained in its response until a final ruling has been made".
Kostić asked whether the cabinet shares the RCC's conclusion that Tata could not show its ambitions are realistic and feasible. Those include a 40% cut in CO₂ by 2030 and CO₂ neutrality by 2045. The cabinet answered: "It is not for the cabinet to review the RCC's ruling."
Kostić also asked whether the cabinet will have independent experts re-examine the feasibility of Tata's plans. The MP accused it of ignoring warnings and of taking "irresponsible risks with money and the health of citizens". The cabinet replied that negotiations on the tailor-made agreement (maatwerkafspraak) and its planning are still under way.
The answers were signed by the climate minister and two state secretaries, for Climate and Green Growth and for Infrastructure and Water Management.
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RCC (Reclame Code Commissie)
The Advertising Code Committee is the Dutch independent body that rules on complaints about advertising under the Dutch advertising codes, including the Code for Sustainability Advertising (Code Duurzaamheidsreclame). Anyone can file a complaint, and the committee judges whether an advertisement is misleading or breaches the code. Its rulings are not court judgments, but advertisers and media generally follow them, and they are often cited as a signal of what is acceptable in advertising.
maatwerkafspraak
A maatwerkafspraak is a tailor-made agreement between the Dutch government and an individual company, most often a large industrial emitter, that sets specific obligations and conditions for that company instead of applying general rules. Such agreements are negotiated case by case and are used to address that company's particular situation, such as its emissions or energy use. They are binding only once both sides have agreed and the terms are formally set.