What is Greenwashing?

About Greenwashing

• What is it? It is the process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’s products are environmentally sound.
• Greenwashing involves making an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do.
• In addition, greenwashing may occur when a company attempts to emphasize sustainable aspects of a product to overshadow its involvement in environmentally damaging practices. 
• Companies can also greenwash initiatives with vague claims that don't provide real data or scientific validation for the claims.
• For example, a car vendor claims that a vehicle is eco-friendly because it is more fuel-efficient, while failing to mention or consider the larger industrial impact of vehicle manufacturing on the environment.

Key Facts about Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)

• It is a voluntary self-regulatory organization of the advertising industry in India.
• Established in 1985, ASCI is registered as a non-profit company under Section 25 of the Company Act.
• It comprises of members from marketing, creative, media, and allied companies in India.
• It is committed to the cause of self-regulation in advertising, ensuring the protection of the interests of consumers. 
• ASCI seeks to ensure that advertisements conform to its Code for Self-Regulation, which requires advertisements to be legal, decent, honest, and truthful, and not hazardous or harmful while observing fairness in competition. 
• It looks into complaints across all media, such as Print, TV, Radio, hoardings, SMS, Emailers, Internet/web-site, product packaging, brochures, promotional material, and point-of-sale material, etc.
• It is a part of the Executive Committee of the International Council on Ad Self-Regulation (ICAS).

Q1) What is the International Council on Ad Self-Regulation (ICAS)?

ICAS is a global platform which promotes effective advertising self-regulation. ICAS members include self-regulatory organizations (SROs) as well as regional and international organizations working to promote adverts which are legal, decent, honest and truthful.

Source: ASCI proposes guidelines to check greenwashing in ads