If only it was just about doing a load of green laundry! ‘Greenwashing’ refers to the practice of making false or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or business. While there is no specific anti-greenwashing legislation in the UK, businesses can be held accountable under existing laws, such as:
- Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs):
- These regulations make it unlawful for businesses to engage in unfair commercial practices, including making misleading statements about a product or service that could affect consumers’ purchasing decisions.
- Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 (BPRs):
- These regulations prohibit misleading advertising that could deceive other businesses and affect their economic behaviour or injure competitors.
- Regulatory Codes:
- The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Green Claims Code and the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) CAP Code provide guidelines to ensure environmental claims are truthful and substantiated
Greenwashing can include exaggerated claims about sustainability, unsubstantiated environmental benefits, or omitting critical information that would give a true picture of the environmental impact.
Recent examples include aviation advertising by KLM which described its use of alternative fuels as a ‘promising solution’ and ‘sustainable aviation fuel’ when it simply contained minor amounts of used cooking oil biofuel. A Dutch court ruled this to be misleading and also prohibited airlines from making ‘off-setting’ claims. This means stopping schemes that suggest customers can pay towards a tree planting project or the costs of bio fuels as a way to reduce, compensate or neutralise the climate impact of a flight.
This is an area likely to face increased scrutiny and with consumers ever more aware of a business’ environmental credentials, it is important for businesses to ensure their environmental claims are accurate and verifiable to avoid legal repercussions and maintain consumer trust.
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