Taxi firm told off for greenwash

Wellington's leading taxi company has been reprimanded for misleading consumers over its "going green" campaign.

The Commerce Commission has issued a warning to Wellington Combined Taxis after a complaint that it was breaching the Fair Trading Act by publishing on its website false information about fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

The commission is cracking down on "greenwashing", in which businesses use deceptive marketing to portray themselves as eco-friendly.

Wellington Combined Taxis' "going green" campaign aims to make it New Zealand's first fully certified carbon-neutral taxi company.

The website claimed its lpg fleet cut carbon pollution by up to 25 per cent.

"However, when asked to provide information to support that claim, they could only provide information suggesting a 20 per cent reduction, but even that figure is not reliable due to the variance in different tests," Adrian Sparrow, the commission's director of fair trading, said.

The website also claimed the Nissan Maxima 3.5 litre V6 petrol engine CVT transmission was 20 per cent more fuel-efficient than traditional automatic transmissions.

But a principal dealer at GT Nissan was unable to get information to support that and recent Automobile Association tests showed the difference was minimal, Mr Sparrow said.

The taxi company's general manager Kevin Braid said it accepted the commission's views. The information for the website was supplied by a third party, but he could not elaborate.

The company "will be reviewing compliance processes", he said.