Businesses must review the Green Claims Code and accompanying guidance to determine whether their environmental claims are in compliance.
By David Little and Anuj Ghai
Background: The need for a Green Claims Code
The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) recent publication of the Green Claims Code (the Code) and its final guidance (the Guidance) in respect of environmental claims represents the culmination of extensive consultation and investigation into claims about “green” goods and services.
In recent years, consumers have paid greater attention to the environmental footprint of the products and services that they buy and consume. In 2019, UK consumers spent £41 billion on ethical goods and services — almost four times the amount spent two decades previously. In light of increasing demand for green goods and services, in 2020 the CMA launched an investigation under its consumer protection powers into the impact of green marketing on consumers and carried out inquiries into potentially misleading environmental claims. At the end of its investigation, the CMA found that up to 40% of online green claims could be misleading. As a result of these findings, the CMA published draft guidance on environmental claims on 21 May 2021, and the final Guidance on 20 September 2021.
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Each year, Hong Kong Arbitration Week celebrates the triumphs and challenges of international arbitration while actively promoting the development of the practice in Asia. This year’s prestigious Harbour Litigation Funding Lecture, now a highlight of Arbitration Week, was delivered by Sophie Lamb QC, Co-Chair of Latham’s International Arbitration practice. She examined the question of whether international arbitration can keep pace with global change, concluding that the community must do more to address calls for greater diversity, transparency, environmental responsibility, and enhanced efficiency. Below are excerpted highlights from the speech.
The public trust doctrine is the principle that certain natural and cultural assets are preserved for public use and that it is the government’s obligation to protect and regulate these, both now and for future generations. Although the doctrine is established in English common law, it is not regularly deployed by the English courts. However, a new piece of legislation, the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (WFA), geared towards improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales, captures many of the values of the public trust doctrine. In particular, it focuses on the long term impact of public body decisions and how they should promote a good quality of life for both current and future generations.
Royal Philips, a health technology company, has recently agreed to an innovative revolving credit facility agreement with a margin linked to the company’s year-on-year sustainability performance improvement. The agreement was entered into by a consortium of 16 international banks (led by ING, as Sustainability Coordinator) and provides for a commitment of €1 billion. Royal Philips’ current sustainability performance was benchmarked by the environmental, social and governance rating agency Sustainalytics: if the sustainability rating increases, the interest rate decreases and vice versa.