By Jo Holmes, Genee
Recyclable, lower carbon, environmentally friendly, sustainable. Businesses use environmental claims like these every day, on websites and packaging, in tenders, on social media and in conversations with customers.
But there is an increasingly important question we should all be asking: if somebody asked you to prove what you’re saying, could you?
New EU rules designed to tackle misleading environmental claims came into effect on 27th September. They strengthen the rules around how businesses communicate environmental information to consumers, including broad claims such as “green” or “environmentally friendly”, sustainability labels and some claims linked to carbon offsetting.
For UK businesses selling into EU markets, that’s an obvious reason to take notice. But if you only operate in the UK, it’s still worth paying attention, as this is part of a much wider shift that is happening here too.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) already makes clear through its Green Claims Code that businesses should have good evidence to support environmental claims. Since April 2025, the CMA has also had significantly stronger powers to enforce consumer protection law.
Perhaps even more interesting for many businesses is what’s happening within supply chains. In January, the CMA published further guidance specifically looking at environmental claims across supply chains, including the responsibilities of retailers, brands, manufacturers and suppliers.
Imagine you tell a customer your packaging contains recycled material, that you’ve reduced your carbon emissions or that you’re sending less waste to landfill. Could you provide the evidence?
Your customer might need that information for a tender, their own environmental reporting or even to support a claim they’re making to their customers.
For many SMEs, I suspect this is where the changing expectations around sustainability will really be felt – not through a regulator knocking at the door, but through customers asking more questions and expecting better answers.
The good news is that this doesn’t mean every business suddenly needs a sustainability department or a 100-page environmental report, but it does mean getting your environmental house in order.
Look at what you’re already saying about sustainability and then look at what sits behind it. Do you have reliable energy and waste data? Do you understand your carbon footprint? Is your environmental policy up to date? Are you setting objectives, taking action and recording the improvements you’re making?
Through our work delivering Investors in the Environment (iiE) across the North, we often find organisations are already doing far more than they realise. What’s missing is sometimes the structure around it – measuring what’s happening, recording the evidence and bringing it together in a way that demonstrates progress.
That’s one of the benefits of environmental management and independent accreditation. It isn’t about earning a badge that gives you permission to call yourself “green”. Specific environmental claims still need appropriate evidence, and it’s about putting the policies, data, actions and continual improvement behind what you’re saying.
And greater scrutiny shouldn’t make businesses afraid to talk about sustainability. If you’ve cut energy use, reduced waste, changed materials or made another genuine improvement, talk about it. Just be specific and make sure you can demonstrate it.
If you’d like to hear how organisations are putting this into practice, join us at the iiE Sustainability Learning, Leadership & Celebration Conference in Newcastle on 25th November.
We’ll be bringing together organisations at very different stages and of very different sizes – from major national businesses such as Greggs to small charities – to share how they’re approaching environmental management, responding to growing expectations and turning sustainability commitments into practical action. The event is free to attend and open everyone.
Book your place at: welcome.iie.uk.com/iie-2026.
www.genee.org.uk