The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has received generally a good report, and some “needs improvement” comments, on its draft Environmental Claims Code designed to stamp out greenwashing.
Comms Declare, the Australian activist group working to convince agencies away from fossil fuel clients, congratulated the AANA on expanding the code to include high emissions industries, as well as misleading environmental imagery and industry-wide greenwashing.
“These measures should prevent coal companies or the gas industry, for example, from advertising themselves as being sustainable or green,” says Comms Declare founder Belinda Noble.
"There are some items that we hope will be prevented in the final draft, such as net zero claims that are based on the highly contested use of offsets, or unproven technologies such as carbon capture – both of which are possible under this version.
"The draft code falls short of some overseas regulations on environmental responsibility grounds, which recently saw Toyota ads restricted in the UK.”
AANA launched a review of its Environmental Claims Code just over a year ago to make sure it reflected community standards and international best practice.
Making unsubstantiated green claims has emerged as a major issue in advertising with competition regulator the ACCC in a greenwashing crackdown.
The Comms Declare report card:
The Good
- Definition of an Environmental Claim is expanded to include businesses and whole industries (rather than just products) as well as images and graphics.
- Says environmental claims must be supported by evidence.
- Notes that leaving out important information is misleading.
- Says small print cannot conflict with overall claim.
- Broad claims should not be used without qualification.
- For the first time, it warned high emissions industries, such as fossil fuels, against making broad environmental claims, noting the "overall environmental detriment of these industries"
- Says "aspirational targets" need to be clear and achievable with realistic and verifiable plans.
Needs improving
- Did not expand the audience to include all possible consumers – but only the ‘target audience’ of the ads.
- Does not require that evidence to back up an environmental claim is publicly available when the ad is run.
- Broad language does not prevent the use of highly contentious offsets or technologies such as Carbon Capture and Storage to be the basis of environmental claims – because they may be available in the future.
- Falls short of UK guidelines that stipulate that advertising should not "encourage behaviour grossly prejudicial to the protection of the environment".
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.