Key highlights of the Green Claims Guidelines are as follows:

• Key Terminology: The Green Claims Guidelines define the following terms:
  • Environmental Claims/Green Claims include claims that suggest or create an impression that a product and/or its packaging or a service inter aliais comparably less damaging to the environment than the previous version of the same product/service or competing goods/service; or has specific environmental benefits.
  • Greenwashing has been defined as unsubstantiated, false, deceptive, misleading environmental claims about products, services, processes, brands, or operations as a whole, or claims that omit or hide information to give the impression that they are less harmful or more beneficial to the environment than they actually are.
• Manner of making Environmental/Green Claims:
  • As per the Green Claims Guidelines, environmental/green claims can be explicit or implicit.
  • These claims can appear in the following forms – advertisements, marketing material, branding, packaging, or any information provided to the consumers.
  • As per the ASCI, all aspects of the environmental/green claims would be relevant including, inter alia, the meaning of the terms used, qualifications and explanations of the claim, information that is not included or hidden, the colours, pictures, and logos used, etc.
• Violation: Any environmental claim that qualifies as “greenwashing” would be considered to be violative of Chapter I of the ASCI Code which pertains to ‘Truthful & Honest Representation’.
• Guidelines: In order to comply with the ASCI Code, the advertisers are required to adhere to the following guidelines–
  • Substantiation for absolute claims – Any absolute claims made in the form of inter alia “environment friendly”, “eco-friendly”, “sustainable”, and “planet friendly” must be substantiated by robust data or well recognized and credible accreditations or both if they are capable of implying that the entire product advertised has no impact or only a positive impact or reduces adverse impact.
  • No dilution of absolute claims – The Green Claims Guidelines prohibit any dilution of absolute claims through disclaimers or any other clarificatory mechanisms, such as QR codes or website links.
  • Evidence for comparative claims– Evidence regarding environmental benefits must be provided for comparative claims like “greener” or “friendlier” and the basis of such comparison should be made clear.
  • Full lifecycle analysis– Unless the advertisement states otherwise, general environmental claims must account for the full life cycle of the advertised product or service and must clearly provide the limits of the life cycle. Advertisements should not mislead consumers about the overall environmental impact of a product/service if such advertisements make claims based solely on a portion of its life cycle.
  • Specifications– The environmental claim should clearly specify whether they pertain to the product, its packaging, a service, or a portion of the product, package, or service, unless the same is clear from the context.
  • Avoid misleading environmental benefits– Advertisers should not mislead consumers about the environmental benefits of a product/service, by highlighting the absence of a damaging ingredient if it is not usually found in competing products or services. Furthermore, an advertiser cannot highlight any environmental benefit as a feature for its products, that results from a legal obligation applicable to competing products.
  • Free-of Claims – A ‘free-of’ claim should come with disclaimers. Asserting that a product is “free-of” a substance if the product is devoid of one substance but contains another with a comparable or greater environmental risk will be considered deceptive claim.
  • Certifications and Seals of Approval– An advertiser must specify the attributes of the product/ service that were evaluated by the certifier if the use of certification or seals of approval creates the impression of an environmental claim. Such certifications and seals of approval should be from a nationally/internationally recognized certifying authority like agency accredited by the UN Council, BIS, etc.
  • Visual elements– Unless required under any law, the Green Claims Guidelines prohibit the use of visual elements in an advertisement that create a false impression that the product being advertised is less harmful or more beneficial to the environment.
  • Refrain from aspirational claims– As per the Green Claims Guidelines, advertisers should not make aspirational claims on the products, its packaging, or services about any future environmental objectives unless they have developed clear and actionable plans detailing how those objectives will be achieved.
  • Disclosure of carbon offset claims– Clear and prominent disclosure must be provided by the advertisers if the carbon offset will not occur for two years or longer. Advertisements must avoid suggesting, directly or by implication, that a carbon offset signifies a reduction in emissions if that reduction, or the action leading to it, was mandated by law.
  • Claims about products being eco-friendly – While claiming that the advertised product is compostable, biodegradable, recyclable, non-toxic, free-of, etc., advertisers should clarify the aspects and the extent to which such claims are being attributed. These claims should be supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence that proves that the product/qualified component will break down within a reasonably short period of time after customary disposal and that the product is free of elements that can lead to environmental hazards.