ASCI’s greenwashing guideline proposes to Deter Misleading Claims
Greenwashing, the term, may have been coined way back in 1986 by Jay Westerveld, but the practice has become more pervasive and surreptitious in today’s digital age. When companies, trying to win over increasingly climate-conscious consumers and investors, opt to communicate symbolic actions that don’t percolate down their organisation, they are greenwashing.
From planting a certain number of trees to falsely claiming responsible sourcing, without a shred of true eco-consciousness, advertisers are trying it all. Some even peddle the steps taken to comply with laws as their initiatives to go green!
A recent report from the nonprofit researcher CDP studied companies around the world to find that of the 4,100 that claimed “transition plans” compatible with the Paris target of keeping the planet from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, only 81 of them have a ‘credible’ plan.
But bombarded by false green spins, consumers are becoming wary of such insincerity and making their annoyance clear. Kantar’s Sustainability Sector Index, 2023, revealed that over half of its respondents believed brands across industries were misleading when reporting their sustainability actions.
India’s large and enviable consumer market is replete with examples of greenwashing, which has led ASCI to come up with draft guidelines specifically for misleading advertising on green claims. There is a pressing need to strike a common ground between advertisers creating an impression of being green and eco-friendly and how the consumer interprets them.
For ASCI, greenwashing refers to false, deceptive, and misleading environmental claims about products, services, processes, brands, or operations as a whole, or claims that omit or hide information to give the impression they are less harmful or more beneficial to the environment than they are. Greenwashing violates Chapter I of the ASCI code on misleading advertisements.
Environmental claims include suggestions that a product or a service:
1. Has a neutral or positive impact on the environment;
2. Is less damaging to the environment than a previous version of the same product or service; or
3. Is less damaging to the environment than competing goods or services; or
4. Has specific environmental benefits.
Advertisers have tended to paint the town ‘green’ with token gestures in eco-activism.
In a pilot exercise, ASCI identified unsubstantiated claims of biodegradable and compostable ingredients, authentic and sustainable products in sanitary products, environment-friendly, organic, sustainable, responsible, and reused and recycled materials in fashion products, non-toxic and bio-based ingredients, planet-friendly practices in home and personal care products, safe and green products by the automotive sector, and green buildings and sustainable and reused building materials in the real estate segment.
Talking about carbon offsets can be tricky as well. The veracity and legitimacy of carbon offsetting claims are under a cloud globally, riddled with phantom credits that don’t represent genuine carbon reductions.
The mechanisms to certify and verify are still nascent and lack the overview of central authorities. Reports have found that carbon-neutral and net-zero-offsetting claims by brands create confusion and misunderstanding among consumers. ASCI has underlined that claiming carbon offset as required by the emission reduction laws would constitute greenwashing.
Through its guidelines, ASCI requires advertisers to make their green claims more specific and not stretch them to the whole product and brand if the same cannot be substantiated.
The ASCI’s draft guidelines now specify that the myriad absolute green claims of products and services being ‘environment friendly’, 'eco-friendly','sustainable', 'biodegradable', and ‘planet-friendly’ should be well substantiated. Comparative terms like ‘greener’ are more acceptable if justified clearly.
Environmental claims will have to be based on the full life cycle of the advertised product or service, or else the limitations must be made clear.
An environmental claim should specify whether it refers to the product, the product’s packaging, a service, or just to a portion of the product, package, or service.
Visual elements in brand communication (advertisements, marketing material, branding, including business and trading names, packaging, or other information provided to consumers) should not create false impressions about environmental impact.
For claims about the product being compostable, biodegradable, recyclable, non-toxic, and free of certain materials, advertisers should qualify the aspects to which such claims are being attributed and the extent of the same. All such claims should have competent and reliable scientific evidence to back them up.
We are also encouraging accreditation, certifications, and seals from nationally or internationally recognised certifying authorities to be highlighted in advertisements, but with a clear mention of the attributes that have been audited for such certifications.
Actionable and evidence-backed plans should inform the future green claims of advertisers, detailing the route to achieving the objectives because consumers are consciously making choices based on what brands claim today.
At ASCI, we believe clear guidelines will also help brands who are at the other end of the spectrum and, wary of backlash, choose not to talk about or underplay their green efforts.
But brands cannot afford to stay silent on environmental issues, as Euromonitor’s International Voice of the Consumer: Sustainability Survey found that 64 percent of consumers try to have a positive impact on the environment through their everyday actions, and to be relevant to them, they must step up their sincere efforts.
ASCI has seen a growing compliance with its flagging of objectionable marketing communication, and upholding the greenwashing code of conduct is expected to invite equally involved participation.
Once laid bare, the lack of integrity of a greenwashing company dents brand trust beyond repair. Reputational damage ranges from bruised goodwill and bad word of mouth to a negative experience of a company’s products and services. Greenwashing increases consumer scepticism in the market, and even bona fide corporate activism suffers.
Our draft guidelines are geared to promote a conducive environment for sincere advertisers and consumers to save the planet.
(Manisha Kapoor is CEO and Secretary-General, Advertising Standards Council of India.)