What can we do to help combat this?
Carbon Neutral Products, while not the silver bullet to tackling climate change, are an essential piece of the puzzle to help improve this global crisis.
We are starting to see the emergence of new regulations across various regions as well as the enforcement of existing regulations, particularly in relation to advertising. The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has issued guidance on environmental claims on goods and services, outlining six key principles:
1 - Claims must be truthful and accurate
Claims must avoid any misleading or exaggerated statements around its carbon product footprint. Claims must not give consumers a deceptive impression, even if the claim is factually correct.
2 - Claims must be clear and unambiguous
Claims should be worded in a transparent and easily understandable manner, making it easy for consumers to comprehend. Businesses should also avoid using any aspirational claims e.g., to ‘reduce waste’ without a clear strategy in place.
3 - Claims must not omit or hide important relevant information
Claims must include full transparency and disclosure of a product's environmental implications, giving all the information the consumer needs to make informed choices. If there are any caveats to a claim, those should be disclosed prominently and not hidden in small print.
4 - Comparisons must be fair and meaningful
Comparisons, whether with competitors’ or a business’ own products, should be based on clear, up-to-date and objective information, and should be based on a like-to-like product.
5 - Claims must consider the full life cycle of the product or service
Claims should not just focus on one small part of a product, but instead accurately represent the full environmental impact. If the claim is about a specific part of a product, then it should be clear what the aspect is, so the consumer is not misled.
6 - Claims must be substantiated
There must be robust, up-to-date and credible evidence to show that the claim is true, such as via independent verification.
36% of businesses surveyed have a brief idea of how to tackle carbon neutrality when it comes to their products, whilst 24% would like to implement carbon neutrality but are unsure where to start.
