Credible Sustainability Claims: Avoiding Greenwashing with Evidence
Increased scrutiny from the DMCC and ISA 500 means environmental claims require solid, verifiable proof. This session explores how you can guide your SME clients to build defensible sustainability statements. We will look at practical ways to reduce their regulatory risk while ensuring their claims match the underlying data.
Reserve Your Seat
What you will learn:
- The Regulatory Backdrop: We will cover the recent updates to the DMCC and ISA 500 frameworks and explain exactly what regulators are looking for when reviewing environmental claims.
- The Claims Plus Evidence Principle: Ambition needs to be backed up by data. You will learn how to ensure your clients' marketing aligns with verifiable evidence.
- Practical Transparency: Openness about boundaries and assumptions is a highly effective way to reduce greenwashing risk. We will outline what this looks like for a typical SME.
- The Accountant's Role: Discover how to act as a credibility sense-checker for your clients without taking on the responsibility of writing their marketing copy.
Agenda
- Why vague claims attract regulatory action.
- Matching claims to evidence and publishing a simple methodology.
- Where accreditations like B Corp, ESG Mark, and ISO 14001 fit in.
- Spotting common mistakes and misaligned badges.
- Structuring the client conversation and reviewing their claims.
Alex Alvey
Sustainability Reporting Lead
Alex specialises in helping accountants navigate sustainability risks by focusing on defensible evidence rather than marketing language.
Registration Resources
- For Everyone: If you can’t make it live, register anyway. The full on-demand recording is sent immediately after the session.
Live Attendee Bonus:
Join us live and complete a brief feedback form to unlock two exclusive advisory tools:
- Claims Sense-Check Framework: A one-page tool to quickly assess client claims and evidence.
- SME Methodology Template: A basic structure to help clients publish their boundaries and assumptions.
The Claims Defence Guide
Before a client publishes an environmental claim, you can walk them through these four checkpoints to help protect them from greenwashing risks.
Verify the Evidence
Regulators look for clarity and consistency. You need to ensure the underlying numbers directly support the specific claim being made by the client.
Enforce Transparency
Being open about boundaries and assumptions provides a strong layer of protection. We will show you how SMEs can communicate these limits clearly.
Build a Methodology
A published methodology statement proves how a calculation was made. This makes the claim traceable and satisfies customers and regulators alike.
Assess Accreditations
Accreditations provide accountability rather than a marketing shortcut. We will discuss when to suggest pragmatic options like ISO 14001 over heavier commitments.
Help clients publish with confidence
The days of unregulated sustainability claims are ending. Equip yourself with the knowledge and tools to guide your SME clients safely into the 2027 reporting landscape.
Why register today?
- Forward-Looking Advisory: Get a clear picture of what is coming so you can act as a proactive, trusted adviser to your clients.
- Exclusive Live Resources: Join us on the live broadcast to unlock the "2027 Readiness Checklist" and "ISSA 500 SME Summary" to use in your upcoming client meetings.
- Can't make the live session? Register anyway to ensure the full on-demand video recording is sent straight to your inbox.
Secure Your Place
Complete the form below to register for the live session.