Guidelines for Advertisements Making Environmental/Green Claims

24 August 2024

To address the surge in demand for environmentally friendly products, Indian government and the advertising council have established regulations to prevent misleading environmental claims. In January 2024, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) introduced guidelines to prevent greenwashing, mandating advertisers to back up environmental claims with robust evidence, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and clarity for consumers. To combat greenwashing, India’s Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) proposed guidelines that require companies to provide transparent and evidence-based disclosures when making environmental claims.

ASCI, established in 1985, is committed to the cause of self-regulation in advertising, ensuring the protection of consumer interests. ASCI aims to ensure that advertisements adhere to its code for self-regulation titled The Code for Self-Regulation of Advertising Content in India which requires advertisements to be legal, decent, honest, and truthful and not hazardous or harmful while observing fairness in competition.

ASCI investigates complaints across all media channels, including print, TV, radio, hoardings, SMS, emailers, Internet, website, product packaging, brochures, promotional materials, and point-of-sale materials. The Indian Supreme Court affirmed and recognised in its January 2017 Judgment the self-regulatory mechanism as an effective pre-emptive step to statutory provisions in the sphere of advertising content regulation for television and radio in India.

Several Indian government bodies, including Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Ministry of AYUSH as well as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), have also recognised ASCI’s role highlighting its significant contributions to consumer safety and quality.

In August 2023, ASCI Academy, a flagship programme of ASCI was launched to build and enhance the capacity of all stakeholders in creating responsible and progressive advertising. ASCI Academy aims to enhance advertising content standards through training, education, outreach, and research on preventive aspects of advertising self-regulation.

Greenwashing is the practice of making false, misleading, or unsubstantiated environmental claims about a product, service, or brand to create a false impression of being eco-friendly. This includes omitting or hiding information to appear more environmentally beneficial than reality.

In 2021, ASCI, reviewed 116 advertisements for possible breaches of its guidelines, addressing concerns about misleading green claims. To counter the growing trend of greenwashing, ASCI introduced stricter advertising standards, effective from February 15, 2024, aimed at preventing misleading environmental claims in advertisements. These guidelines aim to bring transparency, accountability, and to check greenwashing. The guidelines focus on various green claims, including positive impact on the environment, carbon offset, and biodegradable claims.

India’s government, too, has proposed draft guidelines for Protection of Consumer against Greenwashing to prevent and regulate greenwashing, but they require further clarification. The guidelines aim to ensure that vague terms like ‘green’, ‘eco-friendly’, and ‘cruelty-free’ should be used accurately and with proper disclosures. CCPA has emphasised that all environmental claims must be supported by verifiable evidence to prevent consumers from getting misled.

The draft guidelines called Guidelines for the Prevention and Regulation of Greenwashing, 2024, by the Indian government, define greenwashing as “any deceptive or misleading practice, which includes concealing, omitting, or hiding relevant information, by exaggerating, making vague, false, or unsubstantiated environmental claims and use of misleading words, symbols, or imagery, placing emphasis on positive environmental aspects while downplaying or concealing harmful attributes”. The draft guidelines also define ‘environmental claims’ as any representation, in any form, regarding (i) a good (either in its entirety or as a component), the manufacturing process, packaging, the manner of use of the good, or its disposal, (ii) a service (or any portion thereof) or the process involved in providing the service, suggesting environmentally friendly attributes.

Guidelines Proposed by ASCI

The purpose of these guidelines is to:

help advertisers create truthful, transparent, and evidence-based environmental claims that consumers could easily understand and trust;
empower consumers with accurate information, enabling them to make informed purchasing decisions based on environmental claims; and
explain how ASCI would investigate and address potentially misleading environmental claims as per the ASCI code.

Environmental claims/green claims Environmental or green claims refer to assertions that a product, service, or its packaging has a beneficial or non-harmful effect on the environment. This includes claims that a product:

has a neutral or positive impact on the environment;
is comparably less damaging to the environment than a previous version of the same product or service;
is less damaging to the environment than competing goods or services; and
has specific environmental benefits.

Environmental or green claims, which could be either explicitly stated or implicitly suggested, may appear in various forms such as advertisements, marketing materials, branding, packaging, and other consumer information. All aspects of a claim would be relevant, such as:

the meaning of terms used;
the qualifications or explanations provided;
the evidence and data supporting the claims;
omissions or hidden information;
visual elements like colours, images, and logos; and
the overall presentation.

Greenwashing is a violation of the ASCI code, specifically Chapter I, which prohibits misleading advertisements. To avoid breaching this code, advertisements must follow specific guidelines to ensure truthful and transparent environmental claims.

These guidelines include:

Advertisements making absolute claims about a product being ‘environment friendly’, ‘eco-friendly’, ‘sustainable’, or ‘planet friendly’ must be supported by robust scientific evidence and/or credible certifications. These claims imply that the product has no negative environmental impact or has only positive effects, so it is essential to have strong data and trusted accreditations to back them up. This ensures that consumers are not misled and could trust the environmental benefits claimed by the product. Absolute environmental claims could not be made with disclaimers; they must be entirely true and substantiated without relying on additional explanations or justifications.
Comparative environmental claims, such as ‘greener’, ‘friendlier’, etc., must be backed by evidence and clearly compared to previous or competitor products/services, explaining the basis for the comparison.
Environmental claims must consider the product’s entire life cycle, unless specified otherwise. If a broad claim could not be made, a narrower claim about a specific aspect might be acceptable. However, claims based on only part of the life cycle must clearly state the limits and not mislead consumers about the overall environmental impact. This would ensure accuracy and transparency in environmental claims.
When making an environmental claim, it is important to be clear and specific about what the claim applies to. This means clearly stating whether the claim is about the product itself, its packaging, its service, or only a part of one of these.
Advertisements should not mislead consumers about environmental benefits. They should not highlight the absence of a harmful ingredient if it is not typically used in similar products. Further, they should not claim an environmental benefit if it is just a legal requirement for all similar products. Advertisements must be honest and clear about what makes a product environmentally friendly.
While labelling a product as free of a certain substance, it is essential to include a clear disclaimer explaining the reason. This could be due to regulatory requirements, such as ‘XX-Free: Regulations prohibit the use of this substance in this type of product.’ However, it would be misleading to make this claim if the product contains a similar or more harmful substance which could pose a similar or higher environmental risk.
When using certifications or seals of approval that imply environmental benefits, advertisers must clearly explain what aspects of the product or service have been evaluated. Additionally, advertisers should ensure that the certifying agency is nationally/internationally reputable and accredited by a recognised authority, such as the UN or a national standards organisation like the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). This transparency helps consumers understand the credibility and significance of the certification.
Advertisers are not supposed to use visuals that mislead consumers into thinking a product is more eco-friendly than it really is. This includes logos or images that suggest a product is recyclable or has a lower environmental impact, unless required by the law. These visuals could greatly impact how consumers perceive a product’s environmental effects, so advertisers must use them honestly and accurately.
Advertisers could use natural imagery, colours, and elements as part of their brand identity, but they could not imply environmental benefits unless directly related to a specific eco-friendly claim. For example, using green packaging with natural ingredients would not be considered as contributing to a green claim unless it refers to an environmental claim, unless explicitly stated. Advertisers must ensure that their creative elements do not mislead consumers into thinking a product is more environmentally friendly than it actually is.
Advertisers should not make claims about future environmental goals or aspirations unless they have a concrete plan in place to achieve them. This means having a clear roadmap with specific actions and timelines to reach those objectives.
Advertisers making carbon offset claims must be transparent. If the offset would not occur within two years, they must clearly disclose this. Additionally, advertisements could not imply that a carbon offset achieves emission reductions if the reduction was already required by law or was a mandatory activity. This would ensure accuracy and also prevent consumers from getting misled.
When advertisers make claims about a product being eco-friendly, such as compostable or non-toxic, biodegradable, recyclable, free of, etc., they must be specific and provide scientific evidence to back it up. This includes explaining what part of the product the claim applies to and how it works, as well as showing that it breaks down quickly after disposal and does not harm the environment. This helps ensure that advertisers are truthful and transparent in their claims.

Implications of ASCI Guidelines for Advertisers and Consumers

The ASCI guidelines for environmental and green claims have significant implications for both advertisers and consumers.

Advertisers These guidelines require advertisers to be more diligent in how they present their environmental claims. Companies must invest in research and development to ensure that their products genuinely meet the environmental standards they claim to uphold. Advertisers must also ensure that their marketing teams are well-informed about the guidelines and the evidence required to support their claims.

Consumers These guidelines empower consumers by ensuring that they receive truthful and accurate information about the environmental impact of the products they purchase. This enables consumers to make more informed choices and supports the overall goal of promoting sustainable consumption.

Conclusion

The ASCI’s guidelines on advertising environmental and green claims represent a crucial step in combating greenwashing and promoting transparency in advertising. By holding advertisers accountable for the claims they make, these guidelines help ensure that consumers are not misled by false or exaggerated environmental benefits. As environmental concerns continue to rise, such regulations are essential for fostering trust between consumers and brands and for supporting global efforts towards sustainability. Advertisers, consumers, and regulators must work together to create a marketplace where genuine environmental responsibility is recognised and rewarded.