What the Green Claims Code means for your business (updated for 2023)
The UK Green Claims Code, which came into effect in September 2021, was meant to put an end to shady marketing practices. It seems, however, that there’s still a lot to do!
Many UK companies still use terms like “eco-friendly”, “green”, “natural”, or “sustainable” in their web copy and other marketing materials. Unfortunately, these keywords often are applied wrongly and mislead customers into buying products that aren’t as environmentally friendly as portrayed. In fact, a global study showed that as many as “40% of green claims made online could be misleading consumers”.
In January 2023, the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) announced it would expand its investigations into green claims, particularly focusing on false environmental assertions made in relation to “fast-moving consumer goods” (FMCG).
I’ll explain what the Code and these recent developments mean, and how you can avoid any fines. After all, you want to make sure your marketing copy is as ethical as possible.
Disclaimer: I aim to give a general overview of the Code in this post. However, I assume no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in its content. Please ensure you read the full Code and seek independent legal advice if needed.
What is the Green Claims Code?
Simply put, the Code is a piece of UK legislation that was introduced by the CMA to protect UK consumers. It applies to all businesses. Importantly, it’s valid even if misleading claims were originally made by an external party in the supply chain (e.g. by manufacturers or wholesalers).
The six principles of the Green Claims Code
According to the CMA’s take on consumer protection law, all eco-friendly claims made by a business must:
- be accurate and truthful;
- be clear and unambiguous;
- not omit/hide any relevant information;
- compare goods or services in a fair and meaningful way;
- always consider the full life cycle of the product or service; and
- be substantiated.
Example
Let’s say our business sells an “eco-friendly” and “natural” deodorant. However, only about 30% of its ingredients really contain “natural” raw materials, such as coconut oil and aromatherapy oils. The wrapper design uses green leaves on a white background, implying “green” credentials. However, its packaging is not plastic-free and can’t be recycled. This information currently isn’t available on our deodorant’s online product page or wrapper.
We can see that most of the principles above have been violated in the eyes of consumer protection law. “Eco-friendly” and “natural” are misleading environmental claims in this case. Our deodorant company must be clear about whether these terms encompass the whole manufacturing and distribution process, as well as the transport, use, and disposal of our product. If they only apply to one of these processes, our marketing and advertising copy needs to be transparent about this.
Does the Code affect just B2C marketing?
In short, no. It impacts both B2C (Business to Consumer) and B2B (Business to Business) marketing and advertising.
Impact on B2C marketing
Even large B2C online marketplaces, such as Amazon or eBay, must take some responsibility for the environmental claims made by the businesses and products they list.
They should:
- take sufficient steps to ensure all products they sell comply with the relevant laws and regulations, and
- not give the impression of specialising in environmentally-friendly products, when this is in fact incorrect (i.e. there must be no misleading sustainability claims).
Impact on B2B marketing
The CMA has been slightly vague when it comes to the green code legislation in B2B marketing: “It prohibits misleading advertising and misleading comparative advertising. Unlike legislation relating to sales and marketing to consumers, it does not prohibit other commercial practices which may mislead by act or omission.“
However, this doesn’t mean that B2B marketers should take the Code less seriously. Truthful and accurate claims are still important.
How can UK businesses comply?
All UK businesses need to check their (and their suppliers’) environmental claims carefully. Do their products or services really have a positive impact?
Business owners and marketing and advertising departments must
- read and understand the full Green Claims Code;
- comply with all relevant laws and regulations specific to their sector;
- make changes to their marketing and advertising copy and packaging if necessary;
- gather full information, facts and figures to substantiate their environmental claims (ideally in one click, so all information is quickly available to the consumer);
- give all consumers a fully informed choice.
Example: our deodorant company mentioned above may need to change the layout, colouring, symbols and text of its online presence and/or packaging. That’s because we currently give the (false) impression of the product being fully environmentally friendly when it isn’t.
Read the full CMA Green Claims checklist
Apart from its general intro to the Code, the CMA helpfully provided a comprehensive list of questions businesses have to ask themselves before marketing their goods and services. Please view the full checklist here.
Which businesses are scrutinised and what are the fines in 2023?
The CMA decides on an individual basis which parties in the supply chain they’ll investigate if there is a potential breach of the Green Claims Code.
The fashion and textiles sector was scrutinised fairly heavily from January 2022 onwards, with three formal investigations against ASOS, Boohoo, and Asda having been opened to date.
Why did the CMA launch these investigations?
Some of the issues included:
- potentially misleading slogans, such as “George for Good” (Asda), “Responsible Edit” (ASOS), and “Ready for the Future” (Boohoo);
- possible exaggerated claims regarding the use of recycled fabrics;
- missing information about certain materials.
At the time of this update (March 2023), the CMA hadn’t yet reached a conclusion on these matters.
Other areas of scrutiny
As mentioned above, fast-moving consumer goods, e.g. beauty & cleaning products and food & drink, will now be a focus. Another area of scrutiny will be travel and transport.
Companies that make unsubstantiated and misleading green claims may be legally prosecuted and could face extremely serious fines.
In February 2023, The Guardian reported that the proposed new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill could mean that “big companies face the threat of civil penalties of up to 10% of global turnover for breaches of consumer law. Individuals who breach these laws will face fines of up to £300,000.”
Get up to speed with these training resources and courses
So, how can you avoid being fined? After reading the general guidelines, it’s a good idea to educate yourself further. I recommend the following selected resources.
Watch the CIM’s Green Claims Code webinar (free)
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) produced a helpful 1-hour webinar, which was first shown in January 2022 and is available on replay.
Gemma Butler (Marketing Director, CIM) and Michelle Carvill (Course Director, CIM) were great choices to present this seminar, as they are also co-authors of “Sustainable Marketing: How to Drive Profits with Purpose” (Bloomsbury, 2021).
Tip: If you’re short on time, catch the summary and resources discussed between 31.53” and 42.22” as they are especially useful. However, do watch the whole session if you can.
The CIM’s separate courses on sustainable marketing look good, but their price tags aren’t for the faint-hearted if you’re a small business owner or freelancer on a small budget.
See more greenwashing case studies in ThinkHouse’s webinar (free)
In this webinar, advertising experts John Coldham, Dan Smith and Kate Hawkins discussed general factors to consider when making environmental claims in advertising and marketing. They also chatted about specific cases and actions taken by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) against companies who used greenwashing tactics, and what we can learn from these cases.
One dubious practice some businesses came up with was to create their own ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘ethical’ credentials and symbols, which looked similar to official ones. However, they certainly didn’t have the same meaning. (Think, for example, of the leaping bunny that symbolises cruelty-free production methods. Apparently, there have been multiple ‘fake bunny’ logos that lured consumers into a false sense of security.)
Revise your communications and marketing strategy
Sian Conway-Wood, founder of the Ethical Hour, gives sound tactical advice about what businesses should do in terms of marketing strategies. This includes, for example:
- running an internal comms audit;
- revising your PR strategy;
- investing in training and better policy writing;
- ensuring all members of the supply chain are on the same page, and
- thinking about getting accredited by external third parties (e.g. B Corp status or similar).
Review your web copy and SEO keywords for environmental claims
As an SEO content writer and translator, I’m aware of the huge impact the Green Claims Code can have on website owners. They may currently solely rely on popular but vague SEO keywords, such as “eco-friendly”, “eco”, “sustainable”, “green”, “natural”, and so on. Claims like these need to be substantiated.
If you are running a business, chances are you’re using some of these keywords in your web copy and maybe even optimise for them.
Some dos and don’ts:
- Check your web text for relevant SEO keywords that make environmental claims. Analyse e.g. your meta description, title tag, title, headers and body of your web copy. For which keywords have you optimised your text? Are they still safe to use?
- Check whether you can substantiate every single claim you make.
- Draft a separate glossary and environmental impact page, in which you explain in detail how and why you use these terms, and how they apply to your products’ or services’ whole lifecycle (including all members of the supply chain). Clearly link to these keywords or the main glossary from your pages, where relevant.
- If a term doesn’t apply to the entire life cycle of your product or service, don’t use it.
- Don’t “greenhush“. Hiding relevant information from consumers is serious.
- Undertake relevant SEO research and see which other keywords you could rank for instead. (Not sure how to undertake SEO keyword research, optimise your text, or write SEO-friendly content? I’m happy to help.)
Summary: accurate green marketing is the way forward
By now, all UK businesses should be on top of the Green Claims Code regulations and routinely check their marketing and advertising copy.
Don’t forget: the CMA could scrutinise and fine your business to see if you comply with consumer protection law—even if you own a small company!
I hope all the resources listed above will be useful to you.
