Recent environmental rulings retrospective

The summer solstice has just passed, and the days are starting to get shorter, so it’s a good moment to shine a light on some of the most interesting recent environmental rulings by the ASA Council.

Greener homes

The ways people power their homes are changing, solar panels and heat pumps are on the rise. Those technologies aren’t new, but British consumers might not be familiar with when it comes to their homes. So, marketers producing ads for these technologies need to keep that in mind and take steps to help consumers understand their message fully.  Rulings have highlighted issues with ads that failed to make clear the eligibility criteria for government grants, and problems with pricing claims that did not represent what most people were likely to actually pay.

Ads need to include all the information that allows everyone to understand what is being advertised.

Fashion – Sustainability claims

Florals in Spring aren’t a groundbreaking fashion trend, and neither are unsubstantiated environmental claims in clothing ads. The fashion and clothing industries have a major impact on the environment and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of that. That’s why we ran a series of cases looking into environmental claims made by clothing companies.

For an absolute claim, such as “sustainable”, it’s important advertisers make clear the basis of the claim if they’re intending to only refer to a particular environmental benefit. Without measures to control the scope of the claim, consumers are likely to interpret it in a broad manner, potentially even suggesting that over the course of a product’s full life cycle it has a positive, or at least no adverse impact on the environment, and the ASA expects evidence that aligns with that interpretation.

So, for ads with an environmental claim, reflect on the wording used and think about the overall impression of your ad so that you can make a claim that lines up with the evidence you do hold.

Green Disposal

Nappies and wipes are a messy topic, and we’ve seen a couple of instances where advertisers for these products have fallen foul of our standards for environmental claims. 

As always, the basis of an environmental claim needs to be clear, and it needs to be supported by evidence. This extends claims about disposal like ‘biodegradable’. Such claims have been found to be an issue when an advertiser’s evidence hadn’t necessarily accounted for the real-world conditions of where a consumer might throw away the product. The ads also omitted information that allowed consumers to fully understand the claim, like where the products needed to be placed to biodegrade properly, if any substances might interfere with that process, the length of time for the products to breakdown, and if any by-products or environmental harm was caused by their biodegradation.

Keeping your green disposal claims clean doesn’t have to be messy, it’s just a matter of holding evidence that lines up with real world behaviour and including any information consumers need on how to dispose of the product properly.

Travel

Cruises are relaxing and enjoyable. But misleading environmental claims are not and there’s been a few instances of advertisers in this sector running aground. 

Cruises have a big environmental impact, and so ads need to be particularly careful when promoting positive environmental work by cruise operators. We found issues with both broader absolute claims, such as “A Strong Focus On Sustainability And Eco-friendly Practices”, and comparative claims such as “LNG [Liquid Natural Gas], the world’s cleanest marine fuel”. For both types of claim, the basis needs to be made clear, particularly when they’re only being made in relation to a specific development or standard, and then evidence needs to be held by the company responsible for the ad that supports how consumers are likely to interpret it.

Companies that work in high polluting areas can advertise the work they are doing to lessen their impact. Much like when watching the horizon for stormy seas, vigilance is key though. The art to a compliant ad in this area is to be precise in your wording so that an ad doesn’t slip into overclaiming the work that is being done.

If you have any questions about environmental claims in your non-broadcast ads, reach out to CAP’s Copy Advice team. They can provide bespoke advice on your non-broadcast advertising. They also offer a range of advice and training services to help advertisers understand and comply with the rules, including an online library of advice. For environmental claims, this page houses all their key resources. To stay up to date, sign up for the Insight newsletter and follow Committee of Advertising Practice on LinkedIn.

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