This draft guidance explains the obligations under the Australian Consumer Law which businesses must comply with when making environmental and sustainability claims.

It sets out what the ACCC considers to be good practice when making such claims, to help businesses provide clear, accurate and trustworthy information to consumers about the environmental performance of their business.

The goals of this guidance are to:

• encourage accuracy by businesses who choose to make environmental and sustainability claims
• demonstrate how businesses can make true, clear, evidence-based claims that consumers can understand and trust
• decrease instances of ‘greenwashing’, which is the practice of making false or misleading environmental or sustainability claims
• assist consumers to make more informed choices if they want to make purchasing decisions based on environmental or sustainability claims
• help businesses understand and comply with their obligations under the ACL when making environmental and sustainability claims
• explain the general approach the ACCC will take in investigating whether environmental and sustainability claims contravene the ACL and potential enforcement outcomes.