Be on guard against ‘greenwashing’ as tough regulations are now in place. Moreover, the latest guidance available suggests a low threshold for culpability. In this week’s NLJ, Paige Coulter, associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan UK, with input from Julianne Hughes-Jennett, partner, sets out the risks involved and predicts a rise in litigation under the Companies Act 2006 and other legislation concerning allegations of greenwashing (publishing misleading information about the environmental or sustainability characteristics of a good, service or business).
Coulter and Hughes-Jennett write that guidance issued in September by the Competition and Markets ‘highlights in particular the risks of brevity in advertising’.
They advise companies to avoid making any claims that could be viewed as overly broad, vague or ambiguous, writing: ‘From the regulator’s perspective, being vague can be tantamount to being misleading.’
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