Comms Declare’s submission to the federal inquiry into Greenwashing.
Our primary recommendations are:
* The introduction of new federal legislation banning advertising and sponsorships for coal, petroleum and gas products, similar to tobacco advertising bans.
* That ‘net zero’ or ‘carbon neutral’ claims cannot be based solely on offsets and must be backed by detailed plans modelled on Paris Agreement targets. The Australian Consumer Law carries an existing regime which would allow for the introduction of mandatory information standards for environmental claims like these.
* That advertising for high emissions products carry government-mandated eco labels. This might be achieved without legislative reform, utilising determinations under the Greenhouse Gas and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 (Cth).
