Whitepaper: Greenwashing and Carbon Neutrality in Europe

The rising risk of greenwashing in marketing

As market competition intensifies, companies increasingly seek to distinguish themselves to attract customers. A company's ESG performance seems to become a material factor in customer decision-making. As a result, companies frequently resort to explicit environmental claims in their marketing, often relying on vague and unsubstantiated terms such as ‘carbon neutral’, ‘CO₂-neutral’, ‘net zero’, ‘eco‑friendly’ and ‘environmentally friendly’.

These claims are not always substantiated by robust evidentiary support and fail to correspond to meaningful real-world action. This widespread practice raises serious concerns about greenwashing and poses a significant risk of misleading consumers.

Consumer protection authorities and other watchdogs across Europe have started scrutinising such ‘green’ advertisements much more closely. As a result, companies cannot credibly present themselves as environmentally responsible without substantiated, independently verifiable measures to support such claims.

Strengthen your knowledge of cross-border ESG legislation, greenwashing risks, and carbon neutrality regulations in Europe with expert insights.