Building a defensible green claims governance programme
Sustained EmpCo compliance lives in governance, not a one-off audit. The four-corner model assigns clear ownership, four process flows keep claims defensible, and structured evidence shrinks regulator exposure.
A one-off audit goes stale fast — copy refreshes monthly, product pages mutate weekly, packaging artwork ships in waves. Governance is what keeps the compliance state from drifting back to Red.
Roles — the four-corner model
- Sustainability owns the substance — evidence base, methodologies, certifications, life-cycle data.
- Legal and regulatory affairs own interpretation — mapping evidence to Annex I and Articles 6–7, advising on national variations.
- Marketing and communications own the channel — wording, placement, creative production, agency relationships.
- Procurement and supply chain own upstream evidence — supplier warranties, certification chains and the contractual right to call for evidence on demand (CMA undertakings made this binding in 2024).
A single named claims owner chairs the four corners and signs off on every new green claim before publication.
Processes — the four flows
- Claim creation flow — wording → evidence reference → scope check → EmpCo test → market check → sign-off → publication.
- Scanning and monitoring — recurring scans of sites, packaging, marketplace listings; Red/Amber/Green triage with an SLA on remediation.
- Incident response — defined protocol for regulator letters, NGO complaints, journalist inquiries; pre-built FAQs and evidence packs for highest-risk claims.
- Periodic recertification — every claim has a review date; certifications expire, methodologies update.
Evidence — keep, for how long, where
For any active claim within a defined SLA the evidence architecture must deliver: exact wording, medium and dates of use, substantiation file (methodology, data, verifier reports), certification certificate, sign-off log, and responsible owners. UCPD enforcement penalty criteria (Article 13(2)) weight redress, financial benefit and cooperation — well-organised evidence directly reduces exposure.
Training and culture
The CMA undertakings required training as a binding commitment. Effective programmes train marketing, communications, product, brand and procurement teams annually on EmpCo, the seven prohibition families and the company's claim governance workflow. External agencies sign on to the same standards via contract.
What good looks like
A documented green-claims policy; a complete and recurring claims inventory; a substantiation file per active claim; a certified label inventory with Article 2(r) assessments; a CSRD-to-marketing alignment matrix; a recurring scan cadence; an incident response protocol; trained teams; and a named accountable claims owner — visibly endorsed by the C-suite.
Citations: Directive (EU) 2024/825; UCPD Article 13(2); UK CMA undertakings ASOS/Boohoo/Asda (March 2024); Commission DG JUST FAQ (Nov 2025).