Advertising - "Green Claims"

On 11 October 2006 the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint against an advertisement that claimed that a company planted trees to offset its customers’ greenhouse gas emissions. The ASA ordered the advert to be withdrawn as it was considered to be misleading and could not be substantiated. This incident has brought to the fore issues regarding the advertisement of companies’ green credentials. This article provides a useful summary of the guidelines that companies must follow in the UK when making marketing claims relating to their environment practices. The issue of the management and control of such claims may be important not only for those involved with environment and marketing aspects of businesses but also for those involved in corporate social responsibility reporting.

The advertising complaint last month was in relation to a leaflet produced by Scottish and Southern Energy Group, which stated: “We plant trees to balance out the CO₂ that your gas, heating and household waste produces”. The complainant understood the advert to mean that the company plants enough trees to offset the CO₂ produced from all of the households of its customers. The ASA investigated the matter and found that although Scottish and Southern Energy Group did invest in the planting of trees, it was unable to determine whether the number of trees planted would balance out the CO₂ produced by the gas, heating and household waste of all of its customers. The ASA determined that this claim breached the requirement for truthfulness and substantiation set out in the UK advertising codes.

In the UK, claims relating to environment credentials (“green claims”) are required to comply both with the advertising code produced by the Committee of Advertising Practice as well as with the Green Claims Code produced by DEFRA. A summary of the main requirements of these codes is set out below:

• General claims regarding benefit to the environment must be assessed on a cradle-to-grave basis. This means that the complete life cycle of the product must be taken into account, including its packaging, manufacture, use and disposal.
• A green claim should be truthful, accurate and able to be substantiated.
• Ambiguous statements such as “environment-friendly”, “safe” or “green” are inappropriate.
• If any symbol is used in a claim (for example the Mőbius loop for recycled content and recylability), it should be accompanied by a clear statement of what the symbol means.
• Complex and technical scientific language should be avoided. Where it is necessary to use a scientific term, it must be explained in plain language.
• Where scientific opinion is divided or where evidence of any green claims is inconclusive, this should be reflected in any marketing communications.
• If a product has never had a demonstrably adverse effect on the environment, advertisements must not imply that the product has been changed to make it safe (although it is acceptable to state that a product as always been designed in a way so as to avoid harming the environment).

Green claims are becoming increasingly prevalent, particularly as consumers become more aware and sensitive to issues relating to the environment. The ASA has indicated that further guidance may be produced in relation to green claims to ensure that consumers are accurately informed of the implications of their purchases.