The CMA Code On Environmental Claims

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has developed a Code on Environmental Claims.

With customers becoming increasing concerned about the environmental credentials of businesses, there has been a growing number of complaints to the CMS regarding businesses “Greenwashing” their activities. To help prevent this, the CMA has developed a new code of practice for businesses that make claims regarding their environmental credentials that is based on the following 6 principles

• claims must be truthful and accurate
• claims must be clear and unambiguous
• claims must not omit or hide important relevant information
• comparisons must be fair and meaningful
• claims must consider the full life cycle of the product or service
• claims must be substantiated

The six principles align with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which is the legislation that underpins them. The code is particularly useful for businesses that want to advertise what they are doing in terms of environmental protection and to mitigate against climate change.

Find out more.