On October 23, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (the “FAS”) has published recommendations for preventing greenwashing in marketing communications (the “Recommendations”).
Greenwashing is described as actions involving the distribution of false or incorrect environmental statements that mislead consumers regarding the environmental characteristics of goods in order to obtain unjustified advantages.
The Recommendations provide for the concept of environmental statements, their types and requirements for them, as well as the consequences of non-compliance with the requirements for such statements.
Definition of an environmental statement
The Recommendations establish the definition of an environmental statement. By this the FAS understands textual information and/or special signs (eco-labels) related to a product or service, which indicate compliance with environmental standards, or presence of certain product characteristics related to environmental impact.
Such statements may be posted:
- on product packaging;
- in product documentation;
- technical information;
- advertising;
- in digital or electronic media and the Internet.
Reliability and verification of statements
Environmental statements must be substantiated and validated. In the case of certification, it is important to check the availability of the relevant standard and the accreditation of the certification agency.
Business entities can make environmental statements based on self-declaration (without certification), but such statements may be deemed misleading consumers if they are not supported by accurate data.
Principles of environmental statements
Environmental statements must comply with a number of principles, including:
-
Credibility and reliability – statements must be based on verifiable data and, where possible, confirmed by a third party.
-
Clarity - information must be presented clearly and accessible, with explanations as to what exactly the statement applies to (for example, to the entire product or only to its individual elements).
Examples of environmental statements
According to the Recommendations, environmental statements may include statements such as “degradable,” “recyclable,” “contains recycled materials,” “reduced water consumption,” “reduced energy consumption,” and others. It is important that such statements are accompanied by additional information about the conditions for realizing the environmental benefit.
Warning about unreliability statements
Non-compliance with the principles of reliability and clarity may occurring in the following cases:
-
using vague language such as “eco-friendly”, “carbon neutral”, “green”, etc. without specifying specific characteristics;
-
ambiguity in the statement about the use of recyclable materials (for example, without indicating its quantity);
-
omission of information about important conditions for realizing environmental benefits (for example, lack of information about the need for special packaging recycling);
-
statements that imply certification or endorsement by an authorized party where this condition was not met.
Requirements for comparative statements
If the environmental statements contain a comparison with other products, the specific basis for the comparison must be stated (for example, “Product A has a 10% lower carbon footprint than Product B”).
Use of graphic symbols
Graphic marks used to make environmental statements must be easily distinguishable from other marks and not mislead consumers as to their meaning or certification.
Consequences of non-compliance and verification of compliance with the environmental statement
The FAS notes that unfair environmental statements can stimulate sales of goods that have a negative impact on the environment and provide unjustified advantages to unfair manufacturers. This can damage the market for green products and make it difficult for consumers to choose truly “green” products.
In the case related to the unfair use of environmental statements aiming at creating an incorrect impression among consumers about the improved environmental characteristics of a product, the relevant circumstances and actions of business entities may be evaluated by the FAS for presence of unfair competition and, subsequently, result in the imposition of a fine on the violator, the amount of which can range from RUB 100,000 to RUB 500,000.
As one of the reference materials for checking the compliance of an environmental statements with the Recommendations, the FAS refers to the checklist containing the criteria of the Council for the Prevention of Greenwashing.