Mumbai: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) takes a pivotal stride towards enhancing transparency and accountability in environmental advertising through the unveiling of comprehensive draft guidelines on "Environmental/Green Claims.” The draft guidelines are open for public feedback until the 31st of December 2023, post which they will be finalised. Developed by a multi-stakeholder task force, including environmental experts, these guidelines aim to ensure that advertisements are free from greenwashing practices. The draft guidelines establish a clear framework for advertisers to present truthful and evidence-based environmental claims.
Environmental claims include, suggesting or creating an impression that a product or a service has a neutral or positive impact on the environment, is less damaging to the environment than a previous version of the same product or service or a competitive product or has specific environmental benefits.
Environmental/Green claims can be explicit or implicit. They can appear in advertisements, marketing material, branding (including business and trading names), on packaging or in other information provided to consumers.
Indiantelevison.com spoke to ASCI secretary general & CEO Manisha Kapoor on the fresh guidelines and the reasoning behind it now. Once the rules are framed, how they will be implemented and much more…..
On the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) takes a pivotal stride towards enhancing transparency and accountability in environmental advertising through the unveiling of comprehensive draft guidelines on "Environmental/Green Claims.” ….it is very easy to say this but how will this be implemented on a larger scale across mediums
ASCI has a well-established code and mechanism for resolving grievances against objectionable ads. Greenwashing is a kind of misleading ad. Not only are such claims against the ASCI Code, but any misleading ad violates The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 as well. Besides accepting public grievances, ASCI's extensive surveillance system, which includes TAM tracking digital channels and platforms, 32 national newspapers, 50 magazines, and 425 TV channels in 14 languages, ensures that we are looking at advertising across media and geography.
This proactive system, complemented by an in-house digital surveillance team, effectively oversees various mediums. This comprehensive approach underlines ASCI's commitment to maintaining standards across the diverse landscape of advertising platforms, and we will be scrutinizing green claims as a part of this effort
On being environment-friendly, sustainable, etc are oft-used words, how will a brand now make sure that these words are not used loosely, what would be ASCI’s implementation on this? For carbon offset claims and compostable, biodegradable, recyclable, non-toxic, free-of, etc. claims, how will this be implemented
Once finalized, ASCI's guidelines will be implemented through proactive Suo-moto surveillance as well as efforts to educate the industry and consumers. These guidelines will help advertisers navigate the complexities of green claims and set clear directives for acceptable advertising practices on the subject, with a specific focus on preventing the indiscriminate use of broad terms such as "environment-friendly" "sustainable." etc. Brands will be required to substantiate their environmental claims with concrete evidence to ensure accuracy and relevance.
It is recommended that advertisers use narrower claims for which they can provide clear evidence. Advertisers will need to provide competent and reliable scientific evidence for claims regarding carbon offset, compostability, biodegradability, recyclability, non-toxicity or any other environmental claims made in advertising. The guidelines also call for transparency in the evaluation process of these claims and require certifications from nationally or internationally recognized authorities to verify the authenticity of such claims.
On Influencers and Celebrities endorsing such claims what will be the implication on them, will the brand be held responsible or the person endorsing it
By ASCI's guidelines, influencers and celebrities endorsing environmental claims must ensure they have done due diligence to ensure the accuracy and reliability of their information. By law, endorsers need to make sure they have done due diligence for the ads they endorse, or else they can be fined or suspended from endorsements. In the past, the government has taken action against celebrities as well as brands. ASCI has an ‘Endorser Due Diligence’ service in place through which endorsers, including celebrities, can ensure they have taken all precautions to feature in ads without misleading content.
On how clear is the context, about environmental claim should specify whether it refers to the product, the product’s packaging, a service, or just to a portion of the product, package, or service. Can you elaborate on this
The guideline emphasizes precision and transparency in environmental claims. If not evident from the context, any claim regarding a product's environmental impact should explicitly mention whether it pertains to the entire product, its packaging, a specific service, or only a portion of the product, package, or service. This ensures that consumers receive clear and accurate information about e what specific aspects of a product or service are green. The goal is to prevent ambiguity and promote transparency in advertising practices, aligning with ASCI's commitment to responsible advertising.
On how does a common consumer differentiate between genuine claims and claims made by so-called influencers on various social media platforms, especially Instagram
Consumer vigilance and education on advertising is a key aspect ASCI is working on as part of the ASCI Academy. We have tied up with several civil society organizations to improve the advertising literacy of consumers. We will also soon launch a certification course for influencers to ensure their work is responsible. While consumer education is a large and long-term exercise, ASCI is stepping up its efforts in this area along with several other organisations.
