FTC Proposes Revisions to Green Guides
Yesterday the Federal Trade Commission proposed revisions to its Green Guides – “the guidance that it gives marketers to help them avoid making misleading environmental claims.” The Green Guides were first issued in 1992, but have not been changed since 1998. According to the FTC, one reason for the proposed revisions is to “provide new guidance on marketing claims that were not common when the Guides were last reviewed.” In particular, the proposal provides guidance on claims that relate to climate change, including carbon offset and renewable energy claims.
In its summary of proposed changes, the FTC makes the following proposal regarding carbon offset claims:
- Marketers should have competent and reliable scientific evidence to support their carbon offset claims, including using appropriate accounting methods to ensure they are properly quantifying emission reductions and are not selling those reductions more than once.
- Marketers should disclose if the offset purchase funds emission reductions that will not occur for two years or longer.
- Marketers should not advertise a carbon offset if the activity that forms the basis of the offset is already required by law.
The FTC also warns that “unqualified” renewable energy claims should not be made “if the power used to manufacture any part of the product was derived from fossil fuels.”
We previously reported that FTC’s revisions to the Green Guides could be relevant for “green” building claims. The proposed revisions were based, in part, on a workshop focused on Green Building and Textiles. An earlier workshop considered carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates. The FTC’s proposal contains specific discussion of both appropriate and potentially misleading claims regarding “green building” certifications and affiliations.
The FTC is accepting public comments to its proposed revisions through December 10, 2010. Additional posts on greenwashing claims and Green Guides can be found here.
http://www.globalclimatelaw.com/admin/trackback/225920
