CSA, Competition Bureau Seek Accuracy of Environmental Claims
July 14, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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Canada's Competition Bureau, in collaboration with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), released Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers, which provides the business community with tools to ensure that green marketing is not misleading, while also providing consumers with greater assurance about the accuracy of environmental claims.
The guidelines address a number of commonly used green claims and provide examples of how such claims can be used by businesses to comply with the false or misleading provisions of the laws enforced by the Competition Bureau.
Some key points within the guide include:
- The use of vague claims implying general environmental improvement are insufficient and should be avoided.
- Environmental claims should be clear, specific, accurate and not misleading.
- Environmental claims should be verified and substantiated, prior to being made.
"Consumers should not be misled by false environmental claims," said Sheridan Scott, Canada's commissioner of competition. "Businesses should not make environmental claims unless they can back them up. In the end, this will benefit legitimate businesses and consumers by bringing greater accuracy in advertising to the marketplace."
Suzanne Kiraly, president of standards at CSA, said environmental claims are of increasing importance as new and innovative green products appear daily in the market. "CSA utilized its expertise in developing standards that can assist Canadian businesses and advertisers to make more accurate environmental claims. This will help consumers to make informed choices when purchasing products that claim to have a lower overall impact on the environment."
A one-year transition phase will allow legitimate businesses to change their marketing practices, if necessary, and will also allow the Competition Bureau and CSA to raise awareness and understanding on the new environmental guidelines.
During this one-year transition period, however, the bureau will not hesitate to pursue egregious cases of deceptive environmental claims, experts said.
Although the guide is not law, following the best practices it outlines will help businesses avoid making misleading claims that contravene the laws enforced by the Competition Bureau. The guide will be used by the bureau to assess environmental advertising that raises concerns under its legislative mandate.
Source: Canadian Standards Association (CSA).