The Green Claims Code: six tests for an environmental claim before it goes on your brand
The direct answer
The Green Claims Code is the Competition and Markets Authority's guidance on environmental claims under UK consumer protection law. It sets six principles: claims must be truthful and accurate, claims must be clear and unambiguous, claims must leave out no important relevant information, comparisons must be fair and meaningful, claims must consider the full life cycle of the product or service, and claims must be substantiated. It applies to claims about goods, services, brands and whole businesses, and to names, logos, colours and imagery as well as words. The CMA warns that broad terms such as "green", "sustainable" or "eco friendly", used without explanation, suggest a positive or neutral environmental impact overall and are likely to mislead unless the business can prove it. Since April 2025 the CMA can fine a business up to 10% of global turnover for breaking consumer protection law.
Five conclusions
The argument, compressed.
- The Green Claims Code has six principles, and a claim has to satisfy all of them.
- Broad words such as green, sustainable and eco friendly are the highest risk, since they imply the whole product or business has a positive or neutral impact.
- A claim about one part of a product must say so. Silence about the rest can be a misleading omission.
- Evidence comes first: the business must be able to substantiate a claim at the time it makes it.
- A specific, proven claim is also the more distinctive one, since every competitor can say sustainable.
Working framework · 6 decisions
The six principle test
Put each environmental claim, including a name, a badge or a leaf in the logo, through the CMA's six principles in order.
Decision 01 / 06
Truthful
The claim is accurate and the product or business lives up to it.
The six principles in plain words
The CMA summarises the Code in six lines: claims must be truthful and accurate; claims must be clear and unambiguous; claims must leave out no important relevant information; comparisons must be fair and meaningful; claims must consider the full life cycle of the product or service; and claims must be substantiated.
They rest on existing consumer protection law, so the Code describes how the CMA reads the law for environmental claims. A claim covers more than a sentence: the CMA's guidance treats goods, services, brands and activities as all capable of carrying an environmental claim.
The short version
Say exactly what is better, about which part, compared with what, and keep the proof on file.
The words that cause trouble
The Code is direct about broad terms. "Green", "sustainable" and "eco friendly", used without explanation, are likely to be read as saying that the product, service or business as a whole has a positive environmental impact, or at least none that is adverse. Unless a business can prove that, the claim risks falling short of the law.
Omission is the second trap. The CMA's example is a courier that says it is investing 10% more in electric vehicles while staying silent about investing 40% more in diesel vehicles. Each statement may be true; the picture is misleading.
- Stronger ground: "Our mailing bags are made from 100% recycled plastic."
- Stronger ground: "This model uses 30% less energy than our previous model in standard use."
- Riskier ground: "Our eco friendly range."
- Riskier ground: A green leaf logo on a product with one recycled component.
Names, logos and imagery count
For a brand this is the part that matters most. An environmental claim can be made by a product name, a colour scheme, a symbol or a photograph of a forest as readily as by a sentence. A business that names a range "Pure Earth" has made a claim before any copy is written.
That makes naming and identity decisions part of the compliance question. Test a proposed name or mark against the six principles at the same stage you would check the trademark register, while changing course is still cheap.
Why the specific claim is the stronger brand asset
Every competitor can print sustainable on a box, which is exactly why the word has stopped carrying meaning for buyers. A claim narrow enough to prove is also narrow enough to remember and to own.
The Code and good positioning point the same way: one precise, evidenced difference, stated plainly, repeated consistently. The businesses that struggle with the Code are usually the ones whose environmental story was decoration to begin with.
Before you use it
Questions that can change the recommendation.
What are the six principles of the Green Claims Code?
Claims must be truthful and accurate; clear and unambiguous; must leave out no important relevant information; comparisons must be fair and meaningful; claims must consider the full life cycle of the product or service; and claims must be substantiated.
Can I call my product eco friendly in the UK?
The CMA warns that broad terms such as eco friendly, green or sustainable, used without explanation, suggest a positive or neutral impact overall and are likely to mislead unless the business can prove that. A specific, evidenced claim about a named feature is safer.
Does the Green Claims Code apply to logos and brand names?
Yes. The CMA's guidance covers claims made about goods, services, brands and activities, and a claim can be conveyed by names, symbols, colours and imagery as well as words.
What is the penalty for greenwashing in the UK?
Since April 2025 the CMA can decide that consumer protection law has been broken and fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover. The Advertising Standards Authority also rules on misleading environmental claims in ads.
What does brand strategy cost in the UK?
At Branding Tatva the Foundation engagement starts at £1,950 for UK clients. Its published scope includes discovery and positioning, audience definition, a core visual identity, starter brand guidelines and launch messaging direction. Legal review of environmental claims is outside the scope: the business remains responsible for substantiating its claims.
Research record
What this guide draws from.
Each source note describes what the reference supports. Platform guidance, research findings and Branding Tatva's practical suggestions have different scopes.
- Making environmental claims on goods and services (the Green Claims Code)
Competition and Markets Authority
The six principles, the guidance on broad terms, and the courier example of a misleading omission.
- CMA to boost consumer and business confidence as new consumer protection regime comes into force
Competition and Markets Authority
Direct enforcement and fines of up to 10% of global turnover from 6 April 2025.
