International rules in ESG sector are rapidly changing, law firm notes
DLA Piper has released its Environmental Advertising Claims Guide, which is designed to assist organizations in navigating the complex and evolving regulations, including pan-European regulations, surrounding environmental claims in advertising across 23 major jurisdictions.
In recent times, businesses have faced increasing pressures for transparency regarding their environmental credentials and heightened scrutiny from both consumers and governments, noted DLA Piper in a news release. Businesses have also needed to contend with rapidly changing international rules in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) sector.
Now more than ever, companies should take action to address the significant challenges that they face in managing their advertising and sustainability messaging, the firm’s news release emphasized.
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DLA Piper’s new resource aims to help organizations by identifying key laws and regulations applicable to environmental advertising claims, by tracking upcoming changes to these laws, and by covering the requirements of each country’s regulations on green advertising, the news release said.
The guide also incorporates regulator guidance and local best practices, examines examples of admissible and inadmissible claims, and reviews the risks of non-compliance, including who can file complaints or claims and what penalties those violating the rules can potentially face, the news release added.
Lawyer says there’s ‘no margin for error’
“As sustainability and the environment rightly continue to dominate the corporate agenda, it’s critical that businesses are managing the complex risks around evidencing environmental statements in their advertising and marketing,” said John Wilks, a London-based partner at DLA Piper, in the firm’s news release.
With the new resource, DLA Piper aims to support businesses in developing strategies that ensure compliance with environmental advertising regulations and reduce the risk of legal challenges of navigating this complex area of law, Wilks said in the news release.
“While appetite and obligation to showcase organizations’ green credentials grow across every sector, so too does the level of scrutiny they face,” Wilks added. “Not only are regulators increasingly taking action against green claims, but so too are vigilant competitors and pressure groups through complaints and lawsuits, leaving absolutely no margin for error.”
Wilks – a lawyer experienced in advertising and marketing law and a solicitor of the senior courts of England and Wales – has acted for clients before the U.K.’s advertising regulator, including in matters relating to the online targeting of age-restricted ads and sustainability or ESG claims, according to his biography on DLA Piper’s website.