More and more companies are making the commitment to align with the climate agenda and announcing their carbon neutrality goals. But, many ads fall into greenwashing. We analyze the recommendations of the European Green Claims Directive to communicate these initiatives in full and without leaving any fumes in the attempts.
“The era of global warming is over. We are entering the era of the global hotbed.” They could be the sayings of an activist at a protest. But no, it’s from the Secretary General of one of the most meticulous institutions on the planet: the United Nations Organization (UN).
The emergency is in sight and science has given us its KPIs: to maintain a habitable climate it is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and bring them to 0 by 2050. That is to say: achieve carbon neutrality. And companies have a central role in achieving this. Although more and more companies are publicly making their commitment to this goal, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) -an organization dedicated to collecting and evaluating climate data from companies- there’s an alarming lack of transparency in the commitments that are made. The organization found that nearly 30,000 multinational companies worth $24.5 billion did not respond to requests to disclose environmental information. And a minimal percentage of the organizations listed on CDP provided complete information on their indirect or scope 3 emissions. This “greenhushing” is not only harmful to the people who choose to consume or invest in such companies, but also It is disloyal to the sector that is genuinely working to improve its environmental impact.
To address this problem, in March the European Union adopted a proposal called the Green Claims Directive, which will come into force from 2026. This regulation aims to regulate the environmental claims of products and services marketed in the European market, establishing criteria to guarantee that environmental impact statements are verifiable and reliable. The ultimate purpose is to promote a “greener” and circular economy through the conscious and informed purchasing decisions of consumers.
For example, the directive requires that environmental declarations such as “commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030” be substantiated, defining the visa cycle; if they are linked to the production of the product; with what date it is compared and that its foundation is previously verified.
Another risk that the European Union identified is that claims based on carbon offsets or credits are prone to being unclear and ambiguous. For example, “carbon neutral”, “net zero” or “carbon neutral travel” product claims. It says that “in cases where it cannot be demonstrated with scientific evidence, it is especially important to prohibit these claims that suggest, based on carbon offsetting, that a product or service has a neutral, reduced, offset or positive carbon impact.” carbon emissions into the environment.
So I can’t tell my climate plan? The European Union reinforces that this should not prevent companies from making public their investments in environmental initiatives; provided that said advertising does not claim that they compensate, neutralize or make positive the impact of the product or activity on the environment.
In addition, she emphasized that unfortunately there is little awareness in Latin America about the environmental impact of this industry and its serious consequences on climate change, a situation that is obvious when it is seen that the main oil and gas companies are sponsors, advertisers, and winners of the sustainability rankings and awards in the region.
So it was that we understood that if we wanted to be part of the solution we could not continue “advertising” the problem. And since 2019 we began to reduce our portfolio of Oil and Gas clients. In 2021 we gave a formal stamp to this policy with the adhesion to the Clean Creatives pledge. This collective action seeks to commit advertising and communication agencies, people of creativity, and strategy to reject any future contracts with fossil fuel companies, trade associations, or chambers of the sector.
More than 300 agencies from all over the world have already assumed the Clean Creatives pledge, which seeks to mobilize the creative industry towards awareness, responsibility, and action for the climate.
