Guidelines sustainability claims

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has drawn up ‘Guidelines sustainability claims’. These guidelines contain rules of thumb and practical examples that can help businesses when phrasing sustainability claims.

Consumers and companies increasingly want to contribute towards a world that is livable in the long term. That is why they find it increasingly important to make sustainable choices. More and more often, consumers wish to know what the sustainability impact is of the products and services that they purchase, and they take that into consideration in their purchasing decisions.

However, they consider claims about sustainability often to be unreliable. Companies must be honest about sustainability. They can only use clear, truthful, and relevant sustainability claims. ACM has drawn up five rules of thumb for businesses to help them when phrasing their sustainability claims:

1. Make clear what sustainability benefit the product offers
2. Substantiate your sustainability claims with facts, and keep them up-to-date
3. Comparisons with other products, services, or companies must be fair
4. Be honest and specific about your company’s efforts with regard to sustainability
5. Make sure that visual claims and labels are useful to consumers, not confusing