16 May 2023 – UK to ban carbon-neutral claims through offsetting in adverts to stop firms using greenwashing to increase profits.
Many companies use carbon offsetting in order to meet their own targets to become carbon-neutral. But there are concerns that carbon offsetting is not working, which means firms are misleading their customers with their claims.
To combat this greenwashing practice, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will ban adverts that claim that their products are carbon-neutral through offsetting, the Gardian has reported.
Unless companies can prove that the carbon offsetting they buy is really effective, they won’t be able to use phrases such as “carbon-neutral” or “nature positive” in their adverts.
Greenwashing And Carbon Offsetting – Terms Explained
Greenwashing is when a business or organisation makes claims about their environmental credentials which are untrue or exaggerated. It often leads to consumers being misled into thinking the product they are buying does not have a negative impact on our planet.
Sustainability has become more important for consumers, as we become more conscious about the impact we have on our planet.
Companies have realised that they will be able to sell more of their products or services, if they are seen as an environmentally friendly or sustainable organisation.
While many companies, mostly small and medium businesses, have made changes to the way they operate to become more eco-friendly, others, mostly big firms, use marketing to appear to be so. By greenwashing their company they hope to increase their customer base without having to invest into actually becoming greener.
Others, again mostly big corporations with big budgets, use carbon offsetting. This is a practice where companies invest in projects that remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere to offset the greenhouse gases they produce.
There is a wide range of offset schemes around, in which businesses and individuals can invest to reduce their carbon footprint.
They differ in their approaches but all aim to reduce carbon emissions in some way or another. There are projects that plant trees, others invest in carbon capture technology. Most projects invest in clean energy.
Whether this is by building wind turbines or distributing efficient cooking stoves to people in developing countries.
These schemes have become increasingly popular, but they are also controversial. One criticism levelled at these offsetting schemes is that it won’t help people to make the changes in our society that are actually needed to save our planet.
Our guilty consciences appeased, we continue to fill up our SUVs and fly round the world without the least concern about our impact on the planet … it’s like pushing the food around on your plate to create the impression that you have eaten it.
George Monbiot, British Writer and Environmental Activist
Rather than getting to the root cause of the problem, offsetting carbon emissions only addresses the symptoms.
But an even bigger problem is that it is very difficult to prove that these schemes actually work. Because even if they are effective, it is not easy to show that the carbon emission savings are additional to what would have been saved anyway.
Some attempt has been made to regulate this new industry of companies offering carbon offsetting. There are various standards, such as the Voluntary Gold Standard and Voluntary Carbon Standard. These aim to act as a certification system.
However, even these aren’t a guarantee that the projects who follow these standards work in the way they say they do.
ASA Wants Proof Offsetting Is Effective
That’s why the UK advertising watchdog is now cracking down on companies using terms such as “carbon-neutral”, “net-zero” and “nature positive” in adverts, unless they can prove the carbon offsetting scheme does really work.
This newest crackdown on greenwashing, which is set to come into force later this year, follows recent cases, where ASA has banned adverts that included unsubstantiated green claims.
These include enforcements against Lufthansa and Etihad.
The Gardian has reported that businesses are still allowed to talk about their environmental credentials, but the rules around proving what they say will become stricter.
The EU is also making a move to prevent greenwashing. Last week the European Parliament voted for a ban on claims of carbon neutrality that is based on using offsetting.
Climate-related claims have been shown to be particularly prone to being unclear and ambiguous, misleading the consumer. Claims like ‘climate neutral’, ‘carbon neutral’, ‘100% CO2 compensated’ and ‘net zero’ are very often based on offsetting. We need to set things straight for consumers and give them full information.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, EU Environment Commissioner
With both the UK and the EU making moves to force firms and organisations to be more transparent about their carbon neutral claims, it will become more difficult for companies to use greenwashing.
It will also help companies with real green credentials to stand out more and benefit from their efforts to be sustainable and environmentally friendly.
