(Future) sustainability as a marketing credential
The climate impact of products has hardly ever been the centre of more attention than now, and many businesses have launched initiatives to secure a more sustainable future. While it is only natural that businesses want to communicate such initiatives to their customers, it is important to remember the requirements that apply to the use of statements on climate action in a marketing context, including the obligation to demonstrate the accuracy of facts. This applies also to statements on future ambitions.
Can a product be sustainable?
In its quick guide on environmental marketing (2021), the Consumer Ombudsman noted that it is extremely difficult to market a product as sustainable without doing so in a misleading manner. This is due to the principle that a sustainable development must meet the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Therefore, the documentation requirements are quite substantial. According to the guide, a company may, however, present itself as striving for sustainability or launching sustainable initiatives as long as it meets the requirement for adequate documentation.
Marketing claims about future sustainability action
As a general rule, climate statements that are used for marketing purposes must be relevant for the product and must relate to existing circumstances or circumstances that are likely to exist during the life of the product. This also applies to statements on future sustainability actions. It may be difficult to meet this requirement because it involves future goals, but focus should be on ensuring that statements are specific and based on known and documented facts. If the company refers to irrelevant facts or exaggerates its ability to reduce carbon emissions, it will amount to misleading marketing contrary to sections 5 and 6 of the Danish Marketing Act (the prohibition of misleading marketing).
Statements on future sustainability can be expressed by making both ethical and environmental claims. Examples of ethical claims are “[the company] opposes child labour” and “we are working to improve animal welfare”, while statements such as “we are working for a greener future” and “[the company] will use only wind energy by 2030” would be environmental claims. The prohibition of misleading marketing and the documentation requirement apply to both types of statements, also where they are used in combination. The above applies without exception, and both general and specific claims about future sustainability must be adequately documented.
Statements of a general nature are subject to higher requirements because a life cycle analysis must be made. To ensure that the documentation requirements are met and that consumers understand the statements, the wording of the marketing should be as specific as possible. It may therefore be advisable to focus on specific future goals or product improvements by referring to specific product features or the “product journey” (e.g. production, transport, recycling potential, etc.).
A future sustainability plan?
While information about the company's future sustainability plans can be vague or fail to accurately reflect the company's actions, the information must still be verifiable when used for marketing purposes.
As an example, a plan to reduce carbon emissions must be verified by an independent body, and the company should also have carbon footprint accounts showing both its current and expected future emissions.
If the company is marketing a product by way of undertakings on future sustainability, e.g. use of wind energy in its production process, it must have a plan in place describing how the product is made increasingly more sustainable measured by specific properties. And it is not sufficient for the company to draw up the plan; it must also have implemented it - or at least be just about to implement it.
Goals and plans relating to future sustainability should therefore only be used (i) if the company has clear and specific action plans describing how it intends to achieve those goals, (ii) if the results are measurable, and (iii) if the required actions are listed in order of priority.
Marketing claims on climate and environmental performance
Marketing claims that are either so subjective and exaggerated that it is clear to the recipient that they should not be taken at face value, or are so vague and unspecific that it makes no sense to require documentation are not statements subject to the requirements stated above. As an example, a stand-alone statement such as "the best bakery in town" would normally be a marketing claim of this nature and, thus, would not require any proof of accuracy.
Companies should therefore refrain from using these types of marketing claims in statements about their climate and environmental performance, since statements such as "the most sustainable business in town" or "the best plan for future sustainability" are ultimately a de facto comparison with other businesses and their environmental initiatives. Even if a comparison is indirect, it must still be objective, factual and measurable. It is therefore important that such statements can be fully documented.
Continuous updating is key
Whatever the initiative, the company must regularly compare the plan with the results achieved and make any necessary adjustments. Maybe the ambition was too high, maybe the envisaged actions did not produce the desired result, or maybe new obstacles emerged. Depending on the circumstances, the company may have to change its documentation, action plan, and future marketing, including the statements used. Otherwise, it will be at risk of violating the prohibition of misleading marketing.
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