ESG Desk Newsletter: Avoiding Climate-washing, Key Points For Practice

In commercial communications, claims such as "climate friendly," "CO₂ neutral," or "sustainable" must be examined critically. The recently pu blished implementation guidance of the Federal Office for the Environment on Art. 3(1)(x) of the Unfair Competition Act provides greater legal cer tainty in a field that continues to evolve dynami cally.

Dr.iur.des. Andreas Hösli, Attorney-at-Law, LL.M. (UNSW) ¹

On 1 January 2025, in the course of the revision of the CO₂ Act, an amendment to the Federal Act on Unfair Competition (UCA) entered into force. Specifically, the Federal Parliament amended the catalogue of un fair advertising and sales methods and other unlawful conduct under Art. 3(1) UCA. Under the new Art. 3(1)(x) UCA, any person acts unfairly who makes claims about themselves, their goods, works or services concerning the climate impact caused that cannot be substantia ted by objective and verifiable evidence. This clearly raises the bar for climate-related advertising. The le