Green claims update

House of Commons Research Briefing: Fossil fuels, advertising and 'greenwashing'

• The House of Commons published a report on their briefing regarding fossil fuel advertising, climate misinformation, UK policy, regulatory responses, and stakeholder views.
• Debating whether the advertising of fossil fuels should be banned, MPs in favour of a ban argued that it would signal the UK taking its role in climate leadership seriously. Public health arguments were also made. For those in opposition, freedom of expression and commercial impacts on the UK's energy industry were key concerns.

Energy suppliers’ green claims under scrutiny as new rankings revealed

• The newly launched Matched Clean Power Index allows consumers to see how much of the energy they pay for is actually renewable. The platform provides insight into hourly renewable supply, debunking claims of 100% renewable energy from certain suppliers.

Twenty-one European airlines commit to change their practices regarding misleading environmental claims

• Following dialogue with the European Commission and the Consumer Protetion Cooperation (CPC) Network, the airlines, which includes EasyJet, Ryanair, Vueling, and Air France, have agreed to stop claiming that the CO2 emissions of a specific flight could be neutralised, offset, or directly reduced by consumer financial contributions to climate protection projects or by the use of alternative aviation fuels.
• The airlines have also agreed to stop using "vague green language or terminology" and implied environmental claims. A full list of the airlines involved and the commitments can be found here.

New UK legislation introduced to regulate ESG rating providers

• The UK government has finalised new legislation, The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (ESG Ratings) Order 2025, granting the FCA powers to regulate the ESG rating providers to ensure that there are transparent, reliable and comparable ESG ratings.
• Alongside this new legislation, the FCA has also been developing its regime for ESG ratings which it intends to consult on before the end of the year.

 Series of ASA rulings against the fashion sector

• Nike, Superdry and Lacoste have all been found to have made misleading green claims in various paid-for Google ads. As we've seen before, the offending claims included terms such as "sustainable materials", "sustainable style", "sustainable clothing" and "sustainable & elegant clothing" etc.
• These are the first green claims rulings against brands in the fashion retail sector that we've seen in the UK since the CMA's sector-specific investigation and guidance in September last year. It's also interesting to see that the ASA has taken up the mantle as they have typically not enforced against companies in this sector (instead leaving this to the CMA). The ASA has said that these rulings are "part of a wider piece of work investigating environmental claims in the retail fashion sector" so we may see further enforcement work by them in this space. (Notably the CMA has gone very quiet on the green claims front). As is par for the course now, the ads were identified using the ASA's Active Ad Monitoring System.
• In response to the ASA, Nike, Superdry and Lacoste each highlighted lots of positive work they are doing to reduce the environmental impact of their products (including in line with external standards like the Textiles Exchange) and pointed out that further information about their sustainability efforts was available on their websites/ products listings. However, because the claims were broad, absolute and ambiguous, and none of the brands could show that their products had no detrimental impact on the environment across the full product lifecycle, they were found to be misleading.

ASA Ruling on Assured Food Standards t/a Red Tractor

• The ASA has ruled that a television advert for the Assured Food Standards' Red Tractor Scheme (RT) misleadingly implied that all products carrying the Red Tractor Logo meet certain environmental standards.
• RT assured quality standards apply primarily to farming standards, animal welfare and food traceability.
• The advert contained a poster with the RT logo and the text "CERTIFIED STANDARDS", as well as the following voice-over rhyme: "Farmed with care, that's the Red Tractor way. A label to trust, found on food every day. This promise is kept by the checks put in place, to care for our animals with the right food and space. Our cows have a health plan, and a personal vet, from field to store all our standards are met. When the Red Tractor's there, your food's farmed with care."
• In reaching a conclusion, the ASA considered the average, reasonably well-informed, customer's interpretation of the ad. It also assessed the impact of using unsubstantiated, absolute claims, such as "all our standards are met".
• The following implications should be considered:
• Broad or absolute claims such as "sustainable" and "high environmental standards" are likely to be scrutinised and must be supported by robust evidence.
• Failure to substantiate such claims can result in ASA intervention, reputational risk, and the need to withdraw or amend marketing materials.

Big Tech sustainability marketing under scrutiny

• Last month, global research and advisory firm Forrester Research predicted that 2026 will mark a watershed for environmental sustainability, distinguishing between performative and authentic initiatives. Consequently, Computer Weekly's IT Sustainability Think Tank has identified red flags in Big Tech's sustainability marketing. The sentiment of the ASA RT ruling is echoed, with vague metrics, '100% renewable' claims by certificate alone, overreliance on metrics and broad, unsubstantiated language all being listed.

 Winter 2025