Carbon neutrality claims

Verified 14 October 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Claims about the carbon neutrality of a product or service are claims only allowed if verified by a Greenhouse gas emission balance (GHG) and operations of compensation residual emissions. They must also be justified by a summary report, updated annually, which attests to the reality of the allegation. We're presenting the regulations.

Regulated claims are claims that a product or service is carbon neutral or any formulation of equivalent meaning or scope. The claims concerned include:

  • ‘Carbon neutral’
  • ‘Zero carbon’
  • “With a zero carbon footprint”
  • “Climate neutral”
  • ‘Fully compensated’
  • “ 100% compensated’

Framing carbon neutrality claims applies to the following ads :

  • Issued by correspondence and via printed matter
  • Displayed
  • Appearing in press publications
  • Screened at the cinema
  • Broadcast by television services
  • Broadcast
  • Issued via the Internet
  • Affixed to the packaging of products.

Verification of carbon neutrality

Verification of carbon neutrality is mandatory. To ensuring carbon neutrality of its product or service, the company must:

  • A greenhouse gas emissions balance (GHG) that includes direct and indirect emissions of the product or service
  • Operations to offset residual greenhouse gas emissions from the life cycle of the product or service.

Production of BGES

The company must produce a Greenhouse gas emission balance (GHG)of the product or service concerned covering its entire life cycle.

This assessment must be updated annually.

This assessment must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the standard NF EN ISO 14067, or any other equivalent standard with the requirements of that standard.

Learn more about NF EN ISO 14067: Carbon footprint of products

French Association for Standardization (Afnor)

Pour en savoir plus

Compensation for residual emissions

Compensation projects shall not be detrimental to the preservation and restoration of ecosystems and their functionalities. Compensation must be measurable, verifiable, permanent and additional. Emission reductions labeled as Low Carbon meet these criteria.

Until 31 December 2025, the financing of emission reduction and sequestration projects carried out in the Eastern StatesEU (EU) shall be considered to comply with those criteria. This is subject to the condition that the company can justify, through a contract, the eventual recognition for its benefit of the controlled and validated emission reductions and sequestrations of this project.

The company shall ensure compliance with its emission offsetting obligations, if necessary by acquiring additional carbon credits equal to the difference between the controlled and validated emission reductions and sequestration of that project and those financed.

Please note

Publicly advertised companies may display the words ‘compensation made in France’, or any words of equivalent meaning or scope, only if all the compensation projects are made in France.

Documents to be produced

Justification of the claims imposes itself on the advertiser, i.e. the company benefiting from the advertising. For to substantiate allegations, the company shall produce the following:

  • One greenhouse gas emissions balance (BGES) integrating the direct and indirect emissions of the product or service. It certainly has already been produced at the time of verifying the carbon neutrality of the product or service.
  • One summary report including the approach whereby the greenhouse gas emissions of the product or service are avoided as a matter of priority, then reduced and finally compensated. The trajectory for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is described using quantified annual progress targets. The description of the offsetting operations for residual greenhouse gas emissions shall also be included.

Preparation of the synthesis report

The company must publish a summary report Describing the following:

  • Carbon footprint the product or service advertised
  • Approach This ensures that greenhouse gas emissions are avoided as a matter of priority, reduced and finally offset.

This report shall include 3 annexes detailing its content and presented in the following order:

  1. Presentation of the result of the BGES and summarizing the methodology for drawing up this balance sheet
  2. Establishing the targeted path for reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the product or service being advertised
  3. Details of the conditions for offsetting residual emissions which shall specify in particular the nature and description of the offsetting projects.

1. Annex presenting the outcome of the GBMS and a summary of the methodology

The annex presenting the result of the GBGS is accompanied by a summary of the methodology for drawing up this balance sheet.

The summary shall specify in particular all of the following:

  • Scope chosen for the definition of the product or service concerned
  • Functional or declared units used
  • System boundaries
  • Usage Stage and End-of-Life Processing Conditions
  • Emission data taken into account for electricity or gas consumed from grids
  • The country(ies) or geographical area(s) in which the emissions take place, to the extent that such data are available
  • Emissions from international transport, to the extent that such data are available.

2. Annex setting out the target greenhouse gas emission reduction path

The annex setting out the target trajectory for reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the product or service being advertised shall be accompanied by the quantified annual progress targets. These objectives must cover at least the following 10 years the publication of the report.

An updated trajectory covering a new 10-year period shall be established every 5 years following the publication of 1er report.

3. Annex detailing the conditions for offsetting residual emissions

Annex detailing the conditions for offsetting residual emissions specify in particular the nature and description of the compensation projects.

This annex also presents cost information, grouping them into the following categories:

  • Below €10/ tCO2
  • Enter €10 and €40/ tCO2
  • Above €40/ tCO2.

This Annex shall also:

  • Demonstrate that the volume of emissions reduced or sequestered via this compensation corresponds to residual emissions of all the products or services sold and covered by the advertising
  • Please also specify the elements implemented by the company in order to ensure that it does not double-count the compensation allowed by these projects. In particular, it shall set out the conditions for the withdrawal of emission reductions and sequestrations from the market where offset credits are used.
  • Detail the efforts made to ensure the best possible consistency between geographical areas where projects are carried out and where emissions take place.

The summary report must be maintained annuallythroughout the marketing period of the product or service during which the company makes a claim of carbon neutrality in an advertisement.

In particular, the update makes it possible to monitor the evolution of the emissions associated with the product or service in comparison with the reduction trajectory.

The Greenhouse gas emission balance (GHG) duty also be updated annually.

Warning  

The company must withdraw the allegation carbon neutrality if it appears that the unit emissions associated with the product or service before offsetting have increased between two successive years.

This document must be published on the website, or otherwise on the mobile application, of the company.

The internet link or quick response code (QR code) to access this publication is indicated on the advertising or packaging bearing the claim of carbon neutrality.

The failure to publish a greenhouse gas emissions report (GHG) in support of claims of neutrality or carbon offsetting shall be punished by an administrative fine of €20,000 (natural person) and €100,000 (legal person).

These amounts may be increased to the full amount of expenditure on the illegal operation.

The false or misleading claims, representations or representations on the scope of the company's environmental commitments are considered to be deceptive marketing. They shall be punished by 2 years imprisonment and €300,000 a fine (natural person), or €1,500 000 fine (legal person).

The amount of the fine may be increased, in a manner proportionate to the advantages derived from the infringement, to:

  • Either 10% of the average annual turnover, calculated on the last 3 known annual turnover figures at the material time
  • Either 50% expenditure incurred in carrying out the advertising or practice constituting the offense.