How UK Businesses Can Make Credible Green Claims

An environmental claim, sometimes called a green claim, is any statement, image, symbol or message that suggests a product, service, business, brand, activity, or products and services are better for the environment, less harmful to the environment, or have a positive environmental impact.

Environmental claims can relate to many things, including:

• a product’s materials

• packaging

• manufacturing processes

• delivery or logistics

• energy use

• carbon emissions

• carbon offsetting

• waste reduction

• recyclability

• biodiversity

• water use

• business operations

• future climate targets

• third-party certification

The Green Claims Code applies to all UK businesses making green claims. Companies may use different claim categories, from specific product features to broader corporate goals. A claim does not need to use obvious words such as “green”, “eco-friendly” or “sustainable”. Some of these terms, especially “eco-friendly”, are broad and may not have a settled legal meaning. A claim can also be implied through colours, packaging design, leaf icons, natural-world imagery, badges, logos, product names or website sections.

For example, a bottle surrounded by green leaves and described as “naturally better” may create an environmental claim, even if the text never says “eco-friendly”. A website banner saying “building a better planet” may also be interpreted as a broad environmental claim if placed next to product or purchase information. That is why businesses should review not  only the words they use, but the total impression created by their marketing.

Green claims can appear almost anywhere a business communicates. Common examples include:

Website claims
Examples include sustainability pages, product descriptions, carbon-neutral statements, downloadable reports, blog posts, landing pages, FAQs and checkout messages.

Advertising claims
Examples include Google Ads, paid social ads, display banners, influencer posts, video ads and print adverts.

Packaging claims
Examples include “recyclable”, “compostable”, “plastic-free”, “made from recycled materials”, green icons and disposal instructions.

Branding claims
Examples include trading names, product names, taglines, colour choices, sustainability badges and brand promises.

Sales and tender documents
Examples include carbon reduction plans, ESG questionnaires, procurement submissions and corporate sustainability statements.

Labels and certification claims
Examples include carbon-neutral badges, eco labels, offset certificates, product certifications and membership logos.

Social media claims
Examples include campaign posts, “green tip” content, launch announcements, employee advocacy posts and short-form videos.

Because these claims can influence buying decisions, businesses should treat them with the same rigour as pricing, safety, financial or performance claims.

In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)’s Green Claims Code sets out six core principles for businesses making environmental claims.

The six principles are:

1. Claims must be truthful and accurate.

2. Claims must be clear and unambiguous.

3. Claims must not omit or hide important relevant information.

4. Comparisons must be fair and meaningful.

5. Claims must consider the full life cycle of the product or service.

6. Claims must be substantiated.

These principles apply across sectors and can be relevant to both B2C and B2B communication, particularly where claims ultimately influence consumer decisions or appear in the supply chain, and they sit alongside consumer protection law in guiding how businesses present environmental messaging.

The CMA can take action where claims mislead consumers under the consumer protection from unfair trading framework, and misleading statements may amount to a breach of consumer protection requirements. Other bodies, including Trading Standards and the Advertising Standards Authority, may also be involved. Businesses concerned about compliance should review claims against the Code before publication. Since the UK’s strengthened consumer enforcement regime came into force, misleading consumer claims can expose businesses to significant financial and reputational consequences and reinforce the wider aim of protection from unfair trading.

The safest approach is not to stop communicating sustainability work. It is to communicate it better.

UK businesses selling only in the UK should prioritise UK consumer law, the CMA Green Claims Code, ASA/CAP guidance and any sector-specific requirements. However, businesses selling to EU consumers, operating across European markets, supplying EU-facing retailers, or aiming to follow best practice should also pay attention to EU rules.

The EU has taken a stricter direction on vague and unsupported green claims. The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive introduces stronger expectations around generic environmental claims, sustainability labels, offset-based claims and future environmental commitments. From September 2026, EU-facing businesses will need to be especially careful with terms such as “eco-friendly”, “green”, “carbon neutral” and “climate neutral”.

The separate EU Green Claims Directive proposal, which was designed to introduce more detailed substantiation and verification rules, has had an uncertain legislative journey. But the direction of travel remains clear: vague claims are becoming riskier, and specific, evidence-backed communication is becoming the standard.

A credible green claim should be easy for an ordinary person to understand. Avoid broad statements such as:

• “eco-friendly”

• “good for the planet”

• “sustainable”

• “green”

• “planet positive”

• “conscious”

• “environmentally responsible”

These words can mean different things to different people. They may also imply a wider environmental benefit than the business can prove.

A better approach is to explain exactly what has improved, what has been measured and what the claim does not cover.

Instead of saying:

Our packaging is eco-friendly.

Say:

This mailer is made from 80% recycled cardboard and is widely recyclable where local facilities exist. Please check your local recycling guidance.

Instead of saying:

We are a sustainable business.

Say:

We measured our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions for 2025, offset the measured residual emissions through verified carbon projects, and have set a reduction plan for 2026.

Clear claims build trust because they respect the reader’s intelligence.

Some claims are only true under certain conditions. Those conditions must be clear, prominent and close to the claim. For example, “compostable” may be misleading if the product only composts in an industrial composting facility and the consumer is not told this.

A better claim would be:

Industrially compostable where suitable facilities are available. Not suitable for home composting. Check whether your local authority accepts compostable packaging.

The same principle applies to claims such as recyclable, plastic-free, renewable-powered, low-carbon, biodegradable, zero waste or net zero. 

A claim can be technically true and still misleading if it leaves out something important, and omitting information can give consumers the wrong impression.

For example, a company might say:

Our new bottle uses 30% less plastic.

That may be true. But if the new bottle is heavier overall, harder to recycle, transported much further, or part of a product with a larger environmental footprint, the claim may create an incomplete impression.

Balancing information should be prominent enough for customers to notice and understand.

Better phrasing might be:

Our new bottle uses 30% less virgin plastic than our 2024 bottle. The cap and label are still plastic, and we are working to improve recyclability in our next packaging review.

This kind of honesty may feel less polished, but it is much more credible. Readers should also be given further information where a balancing detail changes the overall impression.

A strong green claim states which aspects of the product, service or business it covers. For a product, the life cycle may include:

• raw material extraction

• sourcing

• manufacturing

• packaging

• transport

• warehousing

• retail

• use by the customer

• maintenance

• disposal

• recycling or end-of-life treatment

For a service, the life cycle may include:

• staff travel

• office energy use

• digital infrastructure

• purchased goods

• suppliers

• customer delivery

• waste

• subcontractors

A credible environmental claim should never begin with a slogan. It should begin with evidence.

Before a business says that a product is recyclable, carbon neutral, lower carbon, sustainably sourced, plastic-free, biodegradable or better for the planet, it needs to be able to show why that claim is true. This evidence should exist before the claim is published, not after a complaint, customer query or regulator investigation.

The level of evidence should match the strength of the claim. A narrow claim, such as “this leaflet is printed on FSC-certified paper”, may be relatively straightforward to support with supplier documentation and certification records. A broad claim, such as “we are a sustainable business”, is much harder to justify because it implies a wide environmental benefit across the whole organisation. The broader the claim, the stronger and more comprehensive the evidence needs to be.

In practice, businesses should keep a clear evidence file for every important green claim. This might include carbon footprint assessments, lifecycle assessments, supplier declarations, certification documents, product testing reports, offset retirement certificates, renewable energy invoices, waste data, recycling information, methodology notes and records of internal approval. The evidence should be current, relevant and directly connected to the exact words used in the claim.

For example, if a business says its packaging is “made from recycled materials”, it should be able to prove what percentage of the packaging is recycled, which component the claim relates to, who supplied the material and whether the claim applies to every version of the product. If the outer box is recycled but the internal plastic tray is not, the claim should make that clear.

Carbon-related claims require particular care. A business claiming to be carbon neutral should be able to show what emissions were measured, what period the calculation covered, which emissions scopes were included, what methodology was used, what emissions were reduced, what residual emissions were offset, and which offsetting projects or standards were involved. Without this level of detail, the claim may be too vague to be credible.

This is where a structured provider such as Carbon Neutral Britain can be helpful. Carbon Neutral Britain supports businesses with carbon footprint calculation, offsetting through certified projects, Carbon Neutral Certification and carbon reduction planning. For businesses that want to communicate their climate action responsibly, this kind of structured process can provide a stronger foundation than making informal or unsupported claims.

However, certification does not remove the need for careful wording. A business should still explain what the certification covers and what it does not cover. For instance, a stronger claim would be:

We measured our 2025 UK operational emissions with Carbon Neutral Britain, offset the measured residual emissions through verified carbon offsetting projects, and received Carbon Neutral Business Certification for the period covered. This claim covers the emissions included in our certification scope and does not currently represent a full product lifecycle assessment.

This is more credible than simply saying:

We are green.

Or:

We have no carbon impact.

The second example is especially risky because most businesses still produce emissions. Offsetting can help address residual emissions, but it does not mean that emissions were never created. A credible claim should avoid giving that impression.

Independent verification can strengthen an environmental claim because it gives customers, partners and regulators greater confidence that the claim has not simply been created by the marketing team. This is particularly important for high-risk claims, including carbon neutral, net zero, climate positive, lifecycle-based, product-wide, offset-based and comparative claims.

Third-party verification is not just a badge to display on a website. The value lies in the scope and quality of the verification behind it. A business should understand who has verified the claim, what standard or methodology was used, what time period was covered and what parts of the business, product or service were included.

For example, if a company receives carbon-neutral certification for its UK operations, that does not automatically mean every product it sells is carbon neutral. It may not include all supply-chain emissions, customer use, end-of-life disposal or international activities. If the business presents the certification too broadly, the claim could still become misleading.

A more responsible approach is to present certification as part of a transparent explanation. For example:

Our Carbon Neutral Business Certification applies to our measured operational emissions for 2025. It covers the activities included in our certification scope and is supported by verified carbon offsetting projects. We are continuing to improve our measurement of wider supply-chain emissions.

This type of wording does three useful things. It explains what has been achieved, it makes the boundary clear, and it avoids pretending that the business has solved every environmental issue.

Where possible, businesses should also make evidence easy to find. A short evidence summary, a certificate page, a downloadable carbon report, a QR code on packaging or a clearly labelled sustainability page can help customers understand the basis of a claim. People should not have to dig through several web pages or contact customer service simply to understand what a green claim means.

Labels, badges and certification marks can be useful because they help people understand environmental information quickly. But they can also create confusion if the meaning is unclear.

Before using any environmental label, a business should understand exactly what the label means. It should know who owns the scheme, whether the scheme is independent, what criteria must be met, what has been verified, how long the certification lasts and what the label is allowed to be used for.

For example, a carbon-neutral certificate might apply to the business’s measured operational emissions for a specific year. It may not apply to every product, every service, every supplier or every customer use case. If the business places the badge on a product page without explanation, customers may reasonably assume the product itself is carbon neutral. If that is not true, the presentation could be misleading.

A more responsible approach would be to say:

Our business has received Carbon Neutral Business Certification for our measured 2025 operational emissions. The certification does not currently cover a full lifecycle assessment of every product we sell.

This keeps the benefit of the certification while making the scope clear. Businesses should also be careful with self-created labels. A homemade badge saying “Eco Choice”, “Planet Approved” or “Green Standard” may look official even if it is not based on an independent scheme. If a label is created internally, the business should explain the criteria behind it and avoid presenting it as third-party certification.

The best labels are clear, specific, verifiable and easy for customers to understand. A label should make a claim easier to interpret, not harder.

Environmental claims are not only a brand issue. They can become a legal, regulatory and commercial issue. If a claim is misleading, a business may face regulator scrutiny, advertising complaints, corrective action, customer complaints, reputational damage, removal of marketing materials or financial consequences. It may also lose trust with procurement teams, investors, partners and customers. In B2B markets, this can be particularly damaging because environmental claims are increasingly used in tenders, supplier assessments and ESG reporting.

 The most sensible response is to prevent problems before claims go live. High-risk claims should be reviewed by marketing, sustainability, operations and legal or compliance teams where appropriate. This is especially important for carbon neutral, net zero, climate positive, sustainable, biodegradable, compostable, zero waste and comparative claims.

If a problem is discovered after publication, the business should not ignore it. It should preserve the evidence, identify where the claim appeared, assess the potential impact, remove or pause the wording and replace it with a more accurate version. If customers may have been materially misled, the business should consider whether a clarification or correction is needed.

Documenting the corrective action is important. A short internal record should explain what the issue was, how it was corrected, who approved the new wording and what process changes will prevent the same issue happening again.

This is not just defensive administration. It is part of becoming a more trustworthy organisation.

The best way to improve green claims is to treat them as part of everyday business governance, not as one-off marketing copy. The first step is to audit existing claims. This means reviewing the website, ads, brochures, product pages, packaging, email campaigns, sales decks, tender documents and social media posts. Businesses should look not only for obvious words such as “green” and “sustainable”, but also for implied claims created by imagery, icons, badges, colours and product names.

Once the claims have been identified, they should be risk-rated. A narrow factual claim about packaging material may be relatively low risk if the evidence is clear. A carbon-neutral, net-zero, climate-positive, biodegradable, compostable or product-wide sustainability claim is usually higher risk and should receive more detailed review.

The next step is to match each claim to evidence. If the evidence supports the wording, the claim can be kept, although it may still need clearer qualifications. If the evidence only partly supports the wording, the claim should be narrowed. If no evidence exists, the claim should be removed until it can be substantiated.

Businesses should then create a sign-off process for new claims. This process does not need to slow everything down, but it should make sure that high-risk claims are checked before publication. A practical approach is to require marketing, sustainability or operations, and legal or compliance input for any claim involving carbon neutrality, net zero, offsets, certification, lifecycle impact or comparison with competitors.

Consumer-facing updates should be planned carefully. If a business is improving a sustainability page, changing packaging claims or publishing carbon-neutral evidence, the updates should be clear, dated and easy to understand. Customers should be able to see what has changed, what is currently covered and what the business plans to improve next.

Finally, businesses should schedule regular reviews. Environmental claims should not be left untouched for years. Products change, suppliers change, regulations change, certificates expire and standards evolve. A quarterly review is sensible for active marketing claims, while carbon and certification claims should be reviewed at least annually.

The strongest green claims are not the loudest. They are the clearest. A credible business does not need to pretend it has solved every environmental challenge. It can say what it has measured, what it has improved, what evidence it holds, what remains outside the scope and what it is working on next.

That level of honesty is powerful. It helps customers make informed choices. It protects the business from regulatory and reputational risk. It supports better internal decision-making. It also separates serious climate action from empty green language.

For businesses working with providers such as Carbon Neutral Britain, the opportunity is to communicate climate action with confidence and care. Carbon footprint calculation, certified offsetting, carbon-neutral certification and reduction planning can all support stronger claims, but the wording still matters.

In a marketplace where many people are sceptical of green promises, transparency is a competitive advantage. Businesses that measure properly, reduce genuinely, offset responsibly and communicate clearly will be better placed to earn trust from customers, regulators, employees and partners.

That is how green claims become credible.