The Global Guidance on Environmental Claims 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.
The goal is to provide marketers with a clear set of rules to follow when they decide to communicate the actions that their company is taking to drive more sustainable outcomes. By detailing both the principles and global best practice, it will help brands ensure that environmental claims are credible to consumers and can be backed up if they are challenged.
Ensuring environmental claims are credible is a key commitment of the WFA Planet Pledge, which is celebrating its first anniversary with new member Arla taking the total number of pledge signatories to 27 companies, which represent close to $50bn in cumulative global marketing spend.
In addition, the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has also signed up as the latest of 27 national associations who commit to driving support from local brands to reduce their climate impact with best practice advice. The combined national advertiser associations now cover markets representing over $205bn in total ad spend.
To develop the guidance, 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). 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, Spain, Sweden and the US.
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