76/10 New
proposals to tackle greenwash and build consumer confidence in
environmental claims and labelling have been announced today by Defra.
Two consultations have been launched - one aimed at helping
consumers identify goods and services that are genuinely better
for the environment, and another ensuring that energy-using
products meet minimum performance standards and are accurately labelled.
The proposed update of the Green Claims Guidance will make it
easier for businesses to market their ‘green’ credentials in a
fair and understandable way. A separate consultation on new
enforcement powers for energy-using products and energy labelling
regulations will ensure manufacturers and retailers of products
such as dishwashers, washing machines, TVs and fridges meet
minimum energy standards and give accurate information on their
energy label (the ‘A-G’ label).
Environment Minister Dan Norris said:
“With so many products claiming to be environmentally friendly,
it is difficult to tell which companies are really making big
improvements. The updated Green Claims Guidance will help
businesses with genuine ‘green’ credentials by providing clear
practical guidance on how they should advertise. Importantly, it
will protect consumers from misleading and confusing claims.
“The proposed new enforcement powers should build consumers’
confidence that legally binding minimum energy efficiency
standards for products are being met and that energy labels are
accurate, so they can make properly informed choices. This will
make it easier for people to do the right thing by the environment.”
The Green Claims Guidance represents good practice to be followed
on a voluntary basis, and can be applied to any marketing and
advertising that companies wish to make about their environmental
performance. The guidance sets out the key principles that
businesses should consider to ensure their claims are clear,
accurate and relevant to consumers. The update to the guidance
strengthens the principles from the previous guidance and provides
more practical information and advice relevant to the current market.
The second consultation proposes increasing the powers available
to the National Measurement Office (NMO), which monitors the
energy efficiency of products and energy labelling by introducing
civil sanctions for manufactures and importers that fail to comply
with energy efficiency standards or give inaccurate information on
their energy labels. The civil sanctions will provide a fairer,
quicker and more flexible method of regulating energy using
products than the current criminal sanctions allow. They include
notices requiring a manufacturer or importer to stop non-compliant
activities or bring products into compliance; monetary penalties
which could reflect environmental damage caused, when prosecution
is not in the public interest; or voluntary agreements for
manufacturers or importers to take actions to inform and reimburse
consumers or offer to rectify non-compliance such as amending the
labelling. The second consultation also proposes introducing a
cost sharing regime so that non-compliant businesses will bear the
cost of testing for enforcement activities. This will create
additional incentives for businesses to comply by ensuring a
fairer distribution of responsibilities.
Notes to Editors
1. The consultation on the Green Claims Code can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/green-claims/index.htm
2. The consultation on introducing civil sanctions for energy
using products can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/eup-labelling2010/index.htm
3. Both consultations run from 23 March until 15 June 2010.
4. Defra’s Practical Guidance on Green Claims was first published
in 2003. The updated guidance builds on these principles and
provides more detail and examples which are relevant to the
current market. The guidance applies to all types of marketing and
advertising that companies voluntarily make about their
environmental performance.
5. The National Measurement Office was appointed as the Market
Surveillance Authority with enforcement responsibility for
mandatory energy labelling and minimum energy efficiency standards
in November 2009. The enforcement of the duty on retailers to
correctly display the energy label still rests with Trading
Standards Officers.
6. A product that fails a compliance test is tested three further
times to check the result. If the average result falls below
minimum standards and the manufacturer ignores requests by the NMO
to bring the product into compliance, the only option currently
available is a criminal prosecution.
7. Although not covered by the Regulatory Enforcement and
Sanctions (RES) Act, the sanctions proposed are in line with their
recently agreed proposals. The four civil sanctions proposed are:
· Compliance notices –requiring the manufacturer or
retailer to take actions to comply with the law;
· Stop notices – requiring the manufacturer or retailer
to cease activity that may be causing harm;
· Enforcement undertakings – agreed actions for the
non-complying manufacturer to take such as advertising the breach
to consumers, offering reimbursements and agreeing to change
future labelling;
· Variable Monetary Penalties (VMPs) – a proportionate
monetary penalty for serious offences, when prosecution is not in
public interest.
Contacts:
Defra Press Office
Phone: 020 7238 6600
NDS.DEFRA@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Rachel Clark
Phone: 020 7238 5599
rachel.clark@defra.gsi.gov.uk