Green claims audit – greenwashing risk assessment
Ask us about an audit →We assess every message: wording, evidence and how it is shown
Risk priorities and a clear action plan
Based on Directive 2024/825, unfair commercial practices rules and the practice of consumer authorities
Want to be sure your company's environmental claims are safe?
What is a green claims audit?
A green claims audit reviews all the environmental claims your company already makes. That means your website, packaging, ads, videos, social media and reports. We look at the risk of greenwashing charges. For each claim, we check three things. Is it clear? Is there reliable evidence behind it? Does the way it is shown suggest more than the claim covers?
The result is a risk map with priorities and an action plan. The audit is not a legal opinion or a ranking. It assesses the quality of your environmental communication and shows what to fix before a regulator does. Three things set it apart:
Not one campaign, but everything your company already says about the environment, in all channels and brands. Only the full picture shows the real risk.
We record every message with its source, date, screenshot and the reason for its rating. You can show the result to your board, lawyers and agency.
An EXERGY expert decides on high-risk messages. Our experts calculate carbon footprints, LCAs and EPDs every day, so they know what evidence is enough.
When should you do a green claims audit?
Most often in one of three situations:
New duties under Directive 2024/825
From 27 September 2026, the EU bans generic claims, your own “eco labels” without certification, and product climate neutrality claims based on carbon offsets. The audit shows which messages you need to withdraw or reword.
A signal from the market
A question from a customer, a marketplace or a large buyer, a consumer complaint or action by a consumer authority in your sector. It is better to know your weak points before someone else points them out.
Many brands and channels
Messages come from marketing, agencies and distributors. The audit puts them in one register and shows where the risk is highest.
We choose the scope to fit your situation: a review of all your communication or a check of single materials before they are published.
All communication already on the market, across all brands and channels. It ends with a register of messages, a risk map and an action plan.
Chosen before new guidance applies, after a signal from the market or when you have many brands and agencies.
A shorter review of specific materials, such as a new campaign, a pack or a product page, before they reach your audience.
The same method and the same three layers of assessment, only on a smaller sample. It costs less than pulling a campaign or reprinting packaging.
What materials does the audit cover?
An environmental claim is any message that suggests a benefit for the environment: text, image, graphic or symbol. So we set the scope channel by channel:
Company website, online shop, product pages and sustainability pages.
Slogans, marks and graphics on packaging, based on photos or design files.
Spots, films and videos, including what the picture shows, not only the voice-over.
Posts, ad creatives and campaigns in digital channels.
ESG reports, catalogues, offers and presentations in PDF.
In-store materials, billboards and displays, based on photos or files from you.
What does a green claims audit check?
We assess each claim in three layers (wording, evidence and context) and compare it with the practices that the rules treat as misleading:
Generic claims: “eco”, “green”, “environmentally friendly”, when the company cannot show recognised excellent environmental performance.
Climate neutrality from offsets: “climate neutral”, “CO₂ neutral”, when a product claim is based on buying carbon credits.
Part for the whole: a claim about the whole product or company when the benefit covers only one aspect.
Own labels: marks and “eco logos” that are not based on a certification scheme or set up by a public body.
Own ratings and scales: letters, stars or points given to products. Is it clear what the product is compared with and what the rating means?
Future claims: “net zero by 2040” without a detailed, realistic plan with measurable targets, checked regularly by an independent expert.
A legal duty as an advantage: presenting a legal requirement as a special feature of the offer.
Evidence and baseline: does a figure such as “30% less CO₂” have a method, a scope and current data behind it?
Context: do photos, colours and layout suggest a wider benefit than the claim itself?
How does a green claims audit work?
From collecting materials to an action plan, in four steps:
Scope and materials
We agree the brands, markets and channels. We collect materials from your website and from you: packaging, creatives, reports, catalogues.
Register of messages
We pick out every environmental claim (text, graphic, symbol) and record it with its source, date and screenshot.
Risk assessment
Each message goes through the wording, evidence and context test. An EXERGY expert approves high-risk ratings.
Report and action plan
You get a list of messages with priorities, missing evidence and advice: what to remove, what to make precise and what evidence to add.
What do you get after the audit?
Not just a list of errors, but clear material you can act on:
Register of messages: every claim with its channel, source, date and screenshot.
Risk rating: high, medium or low, with the reason for each message.
Evidence gaps: where data, method or a baseline is missing.
Wording advice: what to remove, what to make precise and what evidence to add.
Approval procedure: how to approve new materials so the problem does not come back.
Green claims audit vs preparing evidence
A green claims audit covers all your company's communication or, in the lighter option, single materials before publication. In both cases, we assess the message itself.
The audit also finds messages with no data behind them. We do not stop at advice: we can prepare the evidence ourselves. This can be a product carbon footprint, an LCA or an EPD, and for public comparisons also an LCA critical review.
If you are still deciding what to communicate, start with an analysis of your product's environmental advantages.
Why choose EXERGY for your green claims audit?
When a message has no evidence, we can prepare it: a carbon footprint, an LCA or an EPD. One company from diagnosis to solution.
The audit result goes only to you. We do not publish company rankings or ratings of brands.
The report has clear priorities, so you know where to start. In 2024, we finished 65 of 74 projects ahead of schedule.
Risky messages come to light with us, not in an official case. In Poland, the consumer authority (UOKiK) can fine a practice that harms consumers' collective interests up to 10% of turnover.
Meet the team
Experienced EXERGY specialists run every project with our own proven methods. We do not give consulting work to subcontractors. We have worked in this field since 2017.
Meet the team →Want to check the greenwashing risk in your communication?
Tell us how many brands you have and where you talk about the environment (website, packaging, campaigns). We will come back with the scope and price of the audit.
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See also
Product carbon footprint
Evidence for lower-footprint claims, under the GHG Protocol and ISO 14067.
LCA
Life cycle assessment of a product under ISO 14040/14044.
ISO 14021 verification
An independent check of self-declared environmental claims under ISO 14021:2026.
Product carbon footprint verification
An independent check of your product footprint before you make claims about it.