In anticipation of combating misleading climate claims on packaging and in advertisements, the European Union has identified a handful of common words and phrases used by companies to pitch their products as environmentally friendly — even when they aren’t.
Anyone who has tried to buy the least-worst version of a consumer product will recognize the struggle to identify it amid a flurry of vague and unverifiable claims, a marketing disconnect known as "greenwashing.” In its research, the EU found that more than half of the green claims it studied were vague, misleading or unfounded. It also found that consumers had a low level of confidence that businesses would tell them the truth.
Although greenwashing has no legal definition — and some industry fund groups hope to keep it that way — the EU intends to put forward measures to tackle the practice. It may require member countries to ensure that environmental assertions made by companies about their products are backed by scientific evidence, according to draft European Commission proposals seen by Bloomberg. Under the plans, firms that want to tout the positive climate aspects of their offerings will also have to highlight the detrimental effects.