As president Emmanuel Macron seeks another term, he is keen to show that his five years in office have kept the environment firmly in sight.
As part of its climate and resilience law, the government on Thursday published a decree concerning the rules for publicity in relation to carbon compensation.
It stipulates that, from next year, it will be forbidden to advertise products as “carbon neutral” without having a document to support the claim. This will apply ads on the internet, on television and to posters.
Companies will be required to provide information on their carbon emissions related to products or services, from the initial manufacture, through to the removal of the product or its eventual transformation through recycling.
This document – published on the company or service website with a QR code – must be accompanied by a clear strategy to avoid green house gas emissions, and failing that, to reduce them or compensate for them.
Counter ‘greenwashing’
The decree is designed to “promote transparency with regards to the public and prevent the effect of “greenwashing”, the government said in the report on its public consultation in January.
However, the initiative has been criticised by NGOs like the CLCV consumer protection group, who say the text isn’t “ambitious” enough.
“Putting a QR code leading to a website is not sufficient. The measures for compensation must be explicitly referred to on the same piece of advertising, and mention that all products produce green house gas emissions.
“Otherwise, it could be misinterpreted by the public who will think that the product in question won’t have any impact on the climate,” Lisa Faulet, scientific spokesperson for CLCV told AFP.
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