Addressing greenwashing through regulations

This report analyzes 23 regulatory instruments across 12 countries to evaluate how governments are regulating greenwashing, focusing on policy instruments, scope, stringency, and the role of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs).

• While most regulatory frameworks incorporate core principles of truthfulness, clarity, substantiation, and transparency, there is a lack of specificity regarding what constitutes adequate evidence. This creates uncertainty concerning verification, methodologies, and data sources, which increases the risk of weak self-declared substantiation.
• The implementation of greenwashing regulations is hindered by the difficulty of obtaining verifiable data across complex value chains. Current frameworks often impose the same substantiation requirements on all companies, which disproportionately burdens small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and smallholders who lack necessary resources.
• Many regulations allow voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) to serve as evidence, yet few establish clear criteria for what makes these schemes credible. The report suggests that defining recognition criteria for governance, data transparency, independence, and audit quality would improve green claims and lower compliance costs.

APA

Verma,, F. S. (2026). Addressing greenwashing through regulations. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/reliability-of-claims-greenwashing

Chicago

Verma,, Florencia Sarmiento,Rupal. Addressing greenwashing through regulations. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2026. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/reliability-of-claims-greenwashing.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Verma, |first1=Florencia Sarmiento,Rupal |title=Addressing greenwashing through regulations |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=29 April 2026 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/reliability-of-claims-greenwashing |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{verma2026addressing, author = {Verma,, Florencia Sarmiento,Rupal}, title = {{Addressing greenwashing through regulations}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/reliability-of-claims-greenwashing}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }