Inside the Green Claims Code with Cecilia Parker Aranha, Director, CMA (Competitions and Markets Authority)

“The focus on sustainability should be the main driver - the driver shouldn’t be that you can make a claim about it.” In this episode, we dive deeper into the Green Claims Code - speaking with Cecelia Parker Aranha, Director of Consumer Protection at the CMA (Competitions and Markets Authority). The Green Claims Code came into force in the UK in January 2022, so still pretty fertile territory. Cecilia shares why the Green Claims code came about; what it sets out to do and importantly, what brands and organisations need to consider to ensure they comply. “As much as protecting consumers - we wanted to level the playing field and give businesses that are genuinely trying to be sustainable the confidence to talk about it.” The Green Claims Code sets out six clear principles - simple enough for brands and organisations to both understand and consider - however, the CMA recognises the enormity of the challenge when it comes to green claims - and that it’s going to take a significant amount of time and resource to bring about much needed change, with their initial focus around enforcing the code in areas where there are the biggest concerns - such as the fashion industry. To this end, we discuss how the CMA is working with partners to tackle misleading claims beyond the UK and online - working with consumer protection groups in Europe and internationally, and how the CMA works closely with the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority). A truly informative discussion - covering many facets. We pose a range of questions to Cecilia that we’ve been hoping to get clarity around since the code came into being - discussing the practicalities of making a claim, the role of consumer activism, and the growing number of independent groups and websites, such as the Changing Markets Foundation - greenwash.com, calling out green claims as greenwash. And of course, the question around the action intention gap. Informative, inspirational and hopeful - with lots of practical takeaways and insights - whether you’re concerned about greenwashing or ready to break away from the greenhushing - we urge you to tune in to this informative conversation. As Cecilia makes very clear throughout - “Start with the evidence you have - and figure out what claims you can make from that.” Evidence first! More about the Green Claims Code here - and we have a number of useful resources related to the code in our Learning Zone. Enjoy… Our podcasts are currently being recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.