Comms Declare has made an argument for stronger environmental guidelines to stamp out misleading green claims by advertisers.
A review of the Environmental Green Claims Code is being held by the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) which receives complaints about advertising. It has no legal power but rather ‘complements Australia’s consumer protection laws’. It is holding the review to update the Code in line with community and technical developments and to ‘increase consumer confidence’.
A summary of Comms Declare’s recommendations are:
* Replace the requirement for the Community Panel to guess what the ‘target market’ is likely to believe, with what the ‘general public’ is likely to believe.
* Add independent, subject matter experts on sustainability, climate and clean energy to advise the Community Panel so decisions can be based on verified facts.
* Demand all emissions reduction or climate claims are backed by comprehensive, publicly available online modelled pathways consistent with the Paris Agreement
* Widen the definition of ‘Environmental Claim’ to include: the use of green or renewable imagery; claims about the production of products and delivery of services; claims about an entire industry; claims about an entire company or brand.
* Prevent carbon offsets being used as the basis of emissions reduction claims.
Add your voice for stronger regulations to help stamp out greenwashing. Submissions are due 5pm on Friday 24 February 2023.
Read the discussion paper and make a submission
Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash
