Global Guidance on Environmental Claims

WFA's Sustainable Marketing Community presents:

Global Guidance on Environmental Claims Playbook

This first-of-its-kind voluntary guidance covers how brands can make sure environmental claims featured in their marketing communications are credible for both consumers and regulators.

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Global Guidance on Environmental Claims Playbook

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The guidance has been developed in the context of WFA's Sustainable Marketing Community, a voluntary commitment by leading companies to use the power of marketing as a force for positive change both internally and with the consumers who buy their products and services.

It identifies six key principles that marketers need to follow to make sure they are seen as trustworthy and to avoid their brands being accused of greenwashing and aswers the following questions:

  • What are environmental claims?
  • What are misleading claims and why are they a problem?
  • What is the country-specific legislation and advertising standards?
  • What is copy advice and where to get it?
  • What are the global environmental principles based on international best practice?

WFA commissioned the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) and the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA), with the support of environmental experts from the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), to help pull the guidance on sustainability claims together.

There was a peer review process from a number of advertising standards bodies from around the world with expertise on green claims, including bodies from Australia, Brazil, France, India, Sweden, Spain and the US.

The guidance was also reviewed by the corporate members of WFA's Sustainable Marketing Community, EACA and Voxcomm, the global groups which bring together advertising agencies. It therefore represents a consensus across the global industry and industry regulators of what the core elements are to ensuring trustworthy and meaningful environmental claims.

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Case studies

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  1. Chipotle (USA, broadcast, online)
    1 Apr 2022

    Chipotle (USA, broadcast, online)

    WFA

    Fast food brand Chipotle makes claims about the environmental impact of its ingredients, how much food waste is diverted from…

    Read more about "Chipotle (USA, broadcast, online)"
  2. Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong Bathroom Tissue (USA, Product packaging & Online)
    1 Apr 2022

    Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong Bathroom Tissue (USA, Product packaging & Online)

    WFA

    Bathroom tissue brand Quilted Northern makes claims on its website and on packaging about its practice of planting trees to replace…

    Read more about "Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong Bathroom Tissue (USA, Product packaging & Online)"
  3. Everlane (USA, Online)
    1 Apr 2022

    Everlane (USA, Online)

    WFA

    Fashion brand Everlane was making claims about the recycled content in its clothes and the fact that dyes used were “safer for…

    Read more about "Everlane (USA, Online)"