Can ASCI curb the white lies of 'green' brands?

Targetting companies hard selling their "eco-friendly" proposition, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has made step towards improving accountability and openness in environmental advertising.

In recent years, the demand for environmentally sound products has risen the world over and so has "Greenwashing", a marketing tactic to lure in environmentally conscious consumers who want to make the right choice for the sake of the planet.

But more often than not, many companies exaggerate their environmental claims or fib to their customers about the extent of their eco-friendly efforts.

Large global brands such as H&M, BP, Volkswagen, Nestlé and Coca-Cola have been exposed for their greenwashing tactics and not standing by what they have said.

The growing menace of brands trying to position themselves as environmentally concerned companies has caught the attention of ASCI and government organizations like the Department of Consumer Affairs. So to curb these practices, the self-regulatory body has come out with anti-greenwashing guidelines.


The draft is open for public feedback until the 31st of December 2023, after which they will be finalised.

Developed by a multi-stakeholder task force, including environmental experts, these guidelines aim to ensure that ads are free from greenwashing practices.
The draft guidelines establish a clear framework for advertisers to present truthful and evidence-based environmental claims, the advertising body shared in a release.

Efforts to match the intent

“Everybody wants to be a part of the trending conversations because they provide a prominent stage to connect with their audiences. But purpose marketing works ideally when it is done in correlation with actual efforts towards that purpose by the brand. Any messaging that doesn't tie back to grounded activations in the most concrete sense should be subject to scrutiny”, says Shradha Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO of Grapes.

Similarly, Nisha Sampath, Brand Consultant, and Founder, of Bright Angles Consulting, said, “Brands have been leveraging sustainability as a marketing construct, particularly to woo the younger Gen Z and millennial audience. In the process, terms like ‘organic’ and ‘environment friendly’ are often used as hashtags without much attempt to explain why and in what way. To worsen things, brands inevitably levy a ‘sustainability premium’ on consumers. As a result, the trust of young consumers in products making sustainable claims is eroding. This will hurt brands and businesses in the long run.”

“Sustainability is not a hashtag or a claim, it is a belief system expressed through every choice made by a business, both visible and invisible. It also means that businesses are prepared to live by it even if it involves hard choices. This is what consumers will ultimately put their faith in. For example, Patagonia refused to deal with oil companies”, she added.

Will the guidelines help?

To prevent misinformation, ASCI emphasizes the critical relevance of proven, comparable, and verifiable statements. According to ASCI's ad surveillance, several phrases are employed haphazardly to convey environmental benefits, making the product appear greener than it is.

N Chandramouli, CEO of TRA Research reiterated that it's a wonderful step by ASCI which will help brands become more careful of such claims, ensuring such claims are supported. "While advertisers are expected to self-regulate, they rarely do, and this will rein in the erring brands," he added.

Advising brands he said, “Brands need to comply stringently with ASCI guidelines, as not doing that will not only bring them under the SRA's scanner but could cause the opposite of what they seek to achieve, i.e. reputation.”

Echoing similar thoughts and support to ASCI’s stand, Samit Sinha, Managing Partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting said, “I fully support this move, as I think it is in the best interest of the consumer who should have all the relevant information to be able to make informed choices, regardless of whether they are health-related or environment-related. This will help reduce, if not altogether eliminate tokenism, thereby preventing a few unscrupulous brands from making misleading claims.”

“On the other hand, it would also encourage some brands to adopt genuinely green products and practices to be able to make legitimate claims. My advice to brands will always be to stick to the truth and find a way to make the truth interesting.”