5 green claims pitfalls and how to avoid them

As consumer wariness grows and regulations crack down, it’s becoming increasingly tricky for businesses to know when and how they can be making green claims in their communications.

The SBC team caught up recently with Daniel Street, Partner at DLA Piper, to pick his brain about some of the common green claims pitfalls and how to avoid them. Here’s what he had to say.

Note to viewers: The interview briefly discusses making claims about renewable electricity, including the use of corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) and renewable energy certificates (RECs). For clarity, corporate PPAs are direct agreements between a generator and business. RECs are a mechanism used to track ownership of attributes associated with renewable electricity.

GHG Protocol has noted research showing that Scope 2 reductions via the use of RECs need to more closely reflect real-world GHG emissions reductions. A draft of the new GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance is expected by 2025, and final guidance by 2026. Businesses may wish to seek expert advice before making emissions claims.