Ireland Urgently Needs Anti-Greenwashing Legislation

Greenwashing has become almost ubiquitous in Ireland in recent years, as corporations, organisations and politicians look to maintain the status quo – profiting from delayed action on the Climate Crisis that threatens to wipe out a third of all life by 2070 and displace more than 1.2bn people by 2050.

Particularly prevalent is greenwashing that focuses on charging consumers extra for ‘green’ products or services that have no validity. We can see that people are happy – eager, even – to buy products that have higher ethical standards and which stand out from their competitors as a ‘sustainable’ product.

However, there is rarely any evidence to support the ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ credentials that companies promise. Instead they are simply exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis by profiting from misinformation as well as maintaining high emissions and excessive consumption in the face of the Climate Crisis.

In fact, a 2020 EU survey found that 53% of environmental product claims were “vague, misleading or unfounded” – and the situation has worsened since then.

At this juncture, it is imperative that the Irish Government introduces legislation to protect the people of Ireland from greenwashing campaigns.

Legislation Examples

France has led the way on enforcing anti-greenwashing legislation.

It’s Climate and Resilience Law came into effect on 22nd August 2021 with the express aim of accelerating climate action in line with its emissions targets.

It clearly defines language related to the Climate Crisis, mandates stricter requirements on goods and services – and the corporations that provide them – and implements penalties for firms who greenwash.

Specifically, it states that the environmental impact of a product or service must be represented in labelling, including greenhouse gas emissions, the implications for biodiversity and the use of water over its lifecycle.

Furthermore, the Law specifically bans the use of any wording on a product, its packaging or in the advertising of a product or service that indicates that it is carbon neutral or has no negative impact on the climate.

Any party found guilty of misleading the public through greenwashing now faces fines up to 80% of the cost of the false promotion. For big campaigns this can run into hundreds of thousands of Euros.

Alongside the financial penalties, the Law also goes on to define ecocide as a criminal offence and set up the framework to enact the ban on fossil fuel advertising in France – which came into effect in August 2022.

They go on to spell out the importance of using clear language that is not open to interpretation, that corporations cannot use words like ‘greenest’ or ‘cleanest’ if they cannot prove it using independent research and standards, and that any comparison with other products must clearly stipulate that comparison (e.g. ‘Our product uses 20% less electricity than XX product by XX brand’).

While enforcing these regulations is the tricky part, the Netherlands and France have put in place clear, concise regulations to protect the public, stamp out greenwashing and punish any corporations that deliberately mislead with bogus sustainability or ‘green’ claims.

In February 2023, the EU stated that it is drawing up draft regulations that will allow it to prosecute companies that greenwash with “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” penalties.

However, this is still at the draft stage, does not have a date for enforcement, and we have seen with the recent EU ICE-ban how quickly climate action legislation can be watered down by those with a vested interest in the status quo through aggressive lobbying.

In this way, we would not only be able to better protect Irish citizens from those companies that profit from greenwashing, but also stamp it out for the betterment of public health and climate action.

This could be enforced by a publicly-funded auditor to replace the ASAI, keeping the public’s interests at the fore – rather than those of advertisers. You can read our recommendations on how the auditor might operate here.

The Irish Government has not only failed to address greenhouse gas emissions at every turn, but has also earned its reputation as a global climate action laggard by repeatedly making plans to implement plans – without any tangible outcomes or meaningful progress.

Now is the time for action, and anti-greenwashing legislation would give the people of Ireland the protection and the platform needed to hold the biggest emitters accountable. It is time that the Irish Government started to deliver for the people and to take the Climate Crisis seriously.

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