Swiss companies face complaints for illegal greenwashing
The Swiss Consumer Protection Foundation has filed complaints against eight Swiss companies, including Swisscom and Coca-Cola Switzerland, for misleading advertising claims about climate neutrality.
The Swiss Consumer Protection Foundation (SKS) has filed complaints against eight Swiss companies for misleading advertising claims about climate neutrality, arguing that they violate Swiss competition law.
The consumer protection organisation has analysed various companies’ claims and green advertising of climate neutrality in Switzerland and found eight of them to be baseless due to insufficient data on CO2 emissions. For example, a mobile provider advertised subscriptions to be ‘climate neutral’ without being able to answer how this is achieved.
Some companies recognised the difficulty around the concept of climate neutrality, while others maintained that they were climate-neutral or climate-positive. Subsequently, the SKS has called for stronger legislation on greenwashing in Switzerland, as have other neighbouring countries and in line with European regulation.