Pre-publication green-claims compliance QA that helps communications teams identify and fix regulatory risk triggers in sustainability language before it goes live, across multiple jurisdictions.

GREEN CLAIMS RULES BY MARKET

Environmental marketing rules are tightening across major markets. The most common risk areas include vague environmental language, absolute claims, inadequate evidence, hidden qualifications, misleading comparisons, unsupported future commitments and carbon claims that do not clearly distinguish direct emissions reductions from offsetting.

Regulators may assess the overall impression created by the wording, product name, badge, imagery, colours, layout, omissions and disclosures—not merely whether an individual sentence is technically true.

EUROPEAN UNION — EMPCO AND ECGT

The EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, Directive (EU) 2024/825, is commonly referred to as EmpCo and is also searched for as ECGT. National implementing measures apply from 27 September 2026.

Generic environmental claims such as “green”, “eco-friendly” or “environmentally friendly” may be prohibited where recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim cannot be demonstrated.

The rules also address:

Sustainability labels that are not based on an approved certification scheme or established by a public authority.

Claims that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive greenhouse-gas impact where that result is based on offsetting.

Future environmental-performance claims that are not supported by clear, objective, public and verifiable commitments, a realistic implementation plan and appropriate independent review.

Environmental comparisons that are unclear, unfair or inadequately supported.

Product names, brand names, badges and other presentation that create a misleading environmental impression.

Claims such as “100% recycled”, “recyclable”, “biodegradable” and “compostable” should clearly identify what the claim applies to, the relevant percentage or measurement basis and any conditions or limitations.

UNITED KINGDOM

The CMA Green Claims Code requires environmental claims to be truthful, accurate, clear, unambiguous and properly substantiated.

Important information must not be omitted. Comparisons must be fair and meaningful, and the complete lifecycle should be considered where relevant.

The ASA’s CAP and BCAP Codes also require the basis of environmental advertising claims to be clear. Qualifications should be sufficiently prominent and must not contradict the overall message.

For financial services, the FCA anti-greenwashing rule requires sustainability-related claims made by authorised firms about their products and services to be fair, clear, not misleading and consistent with the actual sustainability characteristics being promoted.

UNITED STATES

The FTC Green Guides warn against broad, unqualified general environmental-benefit claims such as “green” or “eco-friendly”.

Claims should identify the specific environmental benefit, whether it applies to the product, packaging or a component, and any important conditions or limitations.

Recyclable claims should be qualified when appropriate recycling facilities are not available to at least 60% of the consumers or communities where the product is sold.

Recycled-content claims should state the percentage involved and clearly identify whether the claim applies to the product, packaging or a particular component.

Carbon-offset claims should be supported by competent and reliable evidence, appropriate accounting and clear disclosures where necessary.

CANADA

Canada’s Competition Act prohibits false or misleading representations, including misleading environmental claims.

Claims are assessed by considering both their literal wording and the general impression they create.

Product performance claims must be supported by adequate and proper testing completed before the claim is made.

On 26 March 2026, further amendments removed the specific requirement for business-level environmental claims to be substantiated using an internationally recognised methodology. The same amendments also eliminated private access to the Competition Tribunal for greenwashing-related cases.

Those changes did not remove the Competition Bureau’s authority to investigate and take action against false, misleading or inadequately supported environmental claims.

AUSTRALIA

Under the Australian Consumer Law, environmental and sustainability claims must be truthful, accurate and supported by reasonable evidence.

Businesses should consider:

The overall impression created by the claim.

Information that has been omitted.

Visual elements, colours, logos and badges.

Whether conditions and qualifications are clear and prominent.

Whether future environmental claims have reasonable grounds.

Whether broad wording exaggerates the actual environmental benefit.

A statement can still mislead consumers even when one element is technically accurate. ASIC also scrutinises potentially misleading sustainability and ESG claims involving financial products and investments.

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand’s Commerce Commission Environmental Claims Guidelines apply alongside the Fair Trading Act.

Environmental claims should be:

Truthful.

Accurate.

Specific.

Scientifically sound.

Capable of substantiation.

Expressed in plain language.

Free from exaggeration.

Businesses should take particular care with claims involving recycling, biodegradability, recycled content, natural materials, carbon claims and sustainability. Tests, surveys and certifications must genuinely support the representation being made.

INDIA

India’s Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Greenwashing or Misleading Environmental Claims, 2024 require environmental claims to be clear, transparent, accurate and adequately substantiated.

Businesses should not:

Use broad environmental language without appropriate qualification.

Hide important limitations.

Selectively present favourable information while omitting material facts.

Use certifications or endorsements in a misleading way.

Make comparative environmental claims without clearly identifying the basis of comparison.

Material information should appear with the claim or through an easily accessible disclosure method where appropriate. The scope of the claimed benefit, supporting evidence and relevant conditions should be made clear.

OTHER MARKETS AND EMERGING REGIMES

EcoAppraise also monitors public guidance, advertising rules, consumer-protection requirements and enforcement signals in markets including Brazil, Mainland China, Singapore, selected MENA and GCC states, Chile and Costa Rica.

These jurisdictions do not all use one dedicated greenwashing law. Environmental and ESG claims may instead be assessed under general advertising, consumer-protection, product-labelling, financial-marketing or unfair-commercial-practice rules.

Common areas of concern include:

Vague “green” or “eco-friendly” branding.

Unsupported carbon-neutral or net-zero claims.

Hidden qualifications or small-print limitations.

Environmental statistics or comparisons that cannot be verified.

Certification-style badges that create a broader impression than the evidence supports.

Claims directed at investors or retail consumers without an adequate factual basis.

EcoAppraise applies jurisdiction-specific rules where implemented and uses broader risk principles where a dedicated environmental-claims regime is still developing.

HOW THE GREEN CLAIMS CHECKER HELPS

EcoAppraise is more than a greenwashing keyword checker.

It does not simply highlight words such as “green”, “eco-friendly”, “sustainable”, “100% recycled”, “carbon neutral” or “net zero”.

The Green Claims Checker examines:

What the claim actually communicates.

Whether it applies to a product, packaging, component, service or entire business.

Whether the supporting evidence matches the claim’s wording and scope.

Whether important qualifications or disclosures are missing.

Whether lifecycle, geography and timeframe boundaries are clear.

Whether an environmental comparison is fair and like-for-like.

Whether reductions and offsets have been clearly separated.

Whether the overall message could create a broader environmental impression than the evidence supports.

EcoAppraise maps findings against supported expectations in the EU, UK, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and other monitored markets.

It identifies potential greenwashing issues, explains why they may create risk and suggests clearer wording, qualifications and disclosure language.

The Green Claims Checker supports webpages, pasted text and eligible PDF documents. Reports are private by default and can include PDF and DOCX downloads. Eligible edited material can be rechecked free for 24 hours.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

The Green Claims Checker is an automated pre-publication risk-screening tool. It is not legal advice, certification or regulatory approval.

Final publication and compliance decisions remain with the organisation and its legal, compliance, scientific or technical advisers.