Australia's ACCC issues eight principles to curb misleading environmental claims

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released eight guiding principles requiring businesses to make accurate, evidence-backed environmental claims under Australian Consumer Law. As anti-greenwashing enforcement tightens globally, Indian companies marketing sustainability credentials face rising expectations for substantiated, transparent claims.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released eight guiding principles as part of its final guidance on environmental claims, providing a framework to communicate environmental efforts under Australian Consumer Law. The principles require accurate and truthful claims, supporting evidence, no hidden or omitted information, clear conditions, avoidance of broad unqualified claims, plain language, non-misleading visuals, and openness about sustainability transitions. The guidance, shaped by feedback from over 150 stakeholders, aligns with the ACCC's Compliance and Enforcement Priorities for 2023-24.

The guidance affects all businesses making environmental marketing claims to consumers, with the ACCC actively pursuing misleading claims through ongoing investigations. Acting Chair Catriona Lowe warned that businesses exaggerating environmental benefits without a reasonable basis risk breaching the Australian Consumer Law. The principles aim to empower consumers to make informed choices and incentivise competition based on genuine environmental efforts, putting marketing, product and sustainability teams across consumer-facing sectors under heightened scrutiny for unsubstantiated green claims.

Businesses should review marketing materials against the eight principles, ensure claims are evidence-backed, and disclose conditions and qualifications clearly. The ACCC planned to release additional guidance in early 2024 on emission and offset claims, trust marks, and consumer assessment tools, which companies should monitor. Indian companies with Australian operations or exports should benchmark their sustainability messaging against these principles, as anti-greenwashing scrutiny increasingly mirrors emerging Indian regulatory attention on accurate ESG disclosure.

Key figure — Guiding principles issued: eight environmental claim principles under Australian Consumer Law