Hot on the heels of the CMA's new Green Claims Code, the ASA made its very own announcement that it will be reviewing green claims in advertising and marketing.
Following the first stage in its extensive review of this area, the ASA and CAP announced their decision to bring the rules and guidance in this area up to date:
- The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), will issue Advertising Guidance to industry that sets out the key principles advertisers need to follow to ensure their ads don’t mislead about the environment and are socially responsible when considering environmental issues.
- The ASA is commencing a series of enquiries into specific issues starting with the Climate Change Committee’s identified priority areas requiring carbon reduction. These include: aviation, cars, waste, animal-based foods and heating.
- The ASA will commission research this autumn into consumer understanding of Carbon Neutral and Net Zero claims and research to understand consumer perceptions of Hybrid claims in the electric vehicle market. These have both been identified as priority areas to explore through a review of intelligence we’ve carried out over the last three months, and we expect that research will inform additional Guidance next year. Further research pieces on other topics will follow, in 2022.
You can read the ASA's announcement in full, here.
Find out more about our own free training event in relation to the CMA's Green Claims Code here, during which we will touch on this latest announcement by the ASA.
"Our announcement sends a clear signal that the ASA will be shining a brighter regulatory spotlight on advertising issues that relate to climate change and the environment in the coming months and years. We will provide further updates as our work progresses."