‘Greenwashing’ firms face steep new UK fines for misleading claims

theguardian.com:

When the hydrogen-powered Hyundai Nexo car was launched in the UK in the spring of 2019, it was described as “so beautifully clean” that it “purifies the air as it goes”.

Hyundai Motor UK claimed that if 10,000 of its cars were on the road, carbon emission reduction would be “equivalent to planting 60,000 trees”.

The suggestion that the new car – with a starting price of about £60,000 – could be driven without leaving any pollution sounded almost too good to be true, and in June 2021 the advertising regulator ruled that it was.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that while the car does filter incoming air, it still releases pollutants from tyre and brake wear, with road tyres being a huge source of toxic particle pollution. Hyundai considered it had corroborated its claims, making clear it did not intend to suggest the vehicle left no particulates in the air, but the ASA ruled the ad was misleading and should not be used again.

Green claims routinely used to sell products, from cars and plane tickets to soft drinks and cleaning fluids, now face much greater scrutiny under proposed new laws – and risk fines of up to tens of millions of pounds for claims found to be unsubstantiated and misleading.

Under the digital markets, competition and consumer bill to be unveiled shortly, big companies face the threat of civil penalties of up to 10% of global turnover for breaches of consumer law. Individuals who breach these laws will face fines of up to £300,000. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has said passing the new bill is a priority for the government.

Lawyers said last week that new powers for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to impose direct civil penalties on companies will almost certainly cover