CONTENTS
- 1. Greenwashing as Explained by an Attorney Experienced in Environmental Matters
- 2. An Attorney Experienced in Environmental Matters Analyzes the Application of Legal Liability for Greenwashing Abroad
- - A Case Applying Legal Liability for Greenwashing in France
- - The Greenwashing Standards of the United Kingdom's Advertising Regulator
- - A German Court Case Regulating Carbon-Neutrality Advertising
- 3. An Attorney Experienced in Environmental Matters on the Future Application of Legal Liability for Greenwashing in Korea
- 4. An Attorney Experienced in Environmental Matters Outlines Companies' Greenwashing Risks
- - Daeryun Law Firm LLP's One-Stop Response
1. Greenwashing as Explained by an Attorney Experienced in Environmental Matters
An attorney experienced in environmental matters will briefly explain greenwashing.
Greenwashing is regarded as conduct that misleads the public into perceiving corporate activities that are not environmentally friendly as if they were eco-friendly.
Recently, major countries abroad have tended to impose legal liability for greenwashing, expanding it into matters of deceptive consumer practices, false or exaggerated advertising, violations of competition law, and even breaches of a company's climate responsibility.
Whereas ESG or eco-friendly declarations were previously regarded as falling within a company's voluntary domain, we are now entering an era in which they become subject to judicial review where objective facts, verifiability, and consistency with the actual business structure are not secured.
2. An Attorney Experienced in Environmental Matters Analyzes the Application of Legal Liability for Greenwashing Abroad
An attorney experienced in environmental matters will analyze whether legal liability for greenwashing has been applied abroad.
A Case Applying Legal Liability for Greenwashing in France
The Paris Judicial Court found that the phrases "achieving carbon neutrality by 2050" and "a major player in the energy transition," which the global energy company TotalEnergies used on its website and in its promotional materials, misled consumers and therefore constituted false advertising.
This is a case in which France's "Anti-Greenwashing Act" was applied to a large energy company, and it is also a case that expressly recognized legal liability for a fossil fuel company's carbon-neutrality advertising.
Relying on reports of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the IPCC, the court premised its reasoning on the proposition that "halting new oil and gas development is indispensable to curbing the rise in the global average temperature," and it pointed out that TotalEnergies had continued to expand its business with a focus on oil and gas.
The fact that, according to EU data, more than 97% of TotalEnergies' revenue as of 2024 was generated in non-sustainable sectors was also presented as a basis for the determination.
Accordingly, the court ordered the deletion of the "carbon neutrality" phrasing and the posting of a link to the judgment on the website for 180 days, and it provided that, if this were not complied with, a penalty for noncompliance of up to 20,000 euros per day would be imposed.
The court also recognized liability to compensate Greenpeace France and other environmental organizations that had filed the suit.
The Greenwashing Standards of the United Kingdom's Advertising Regulator
In the United Kingdom, greenwashing is assessed not by a court but by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), an advertising regulator.
The ASA dismissed a complaint against an advertisement in which the global energy company Shell promoted a solar power purchase agreement (PPA), finding that it "did not constitute greenwashing."
The issue was that Shell, while still operating oil and gas as its main business, did not mention this in the advertisement, thereby making itself appear to be a renewable energy company.
The ASA, however, determined that the advertisement was intended for business-to-business (B2B) transactions rather than consumers (B2C) and merely introduced a specific collaboration case.
It also found that the advertisement did not amount to greenwashing, citing the low likelihood that an ordinary consumer would be misled as to Shell's overall business structure.
This case shows that the target, context, and accessibility of an advertisement serve as key factors in assessing greenwashing.
A German Court Case Regulating Carbon-Neutrality Advertising
A court in Frankfurt, Germany, found that Apple's advertising of the Apple Watch as "our first carbon-neutral product" violated German competition law.
The court considered that the forest carbon-offset project asserted by Apple lacked sufficient legal assurance of long-term continuity and that its offsetting effect was also uncertain.
As a result, Apple is barred from using the expression "carbon neutrality" within Germany, and a fine of 250,000 euros per instance is imposed for a violation.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), which filed this suit, assessed the judgment as a significant judicial check on greenwashing.
The German court's determination shows that a very high level of objectivity, continuity, and verifiability is required of carbon-neutrality claims.
3. An Attorney Experienced in Environmental Matters on the Future Application of Legal Liability for Greenwashing in Korea
From the perspective of an attorney experienced in environmental matters, the cases in France, the United Kingdom, and Germany offer direct implications for Korean companies as well.
Korean companies are also actively using expressions such as "2050 carbon neutrality," "participation in RE100," and "green transition," but where the actual business structure and implementation plans do not support these claims, legal liability may arise through the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising, individual environmental statutes, regulation of deceptive consumer practices, and the like.
In particular, the likelihood that consumer and environmental organizations will actively file suits in Korea as well, relying on foreign precedents, is increasing going forward, and it is assessed that ESG is moving from the realm of declaration to that of demonstrable implementation and disclosure.
4. An Attorney Experienced in Environmental Matters Outlines Companies' Greenwashing Risks
Category | Risks a Company May Face | Preventive Measures Suggested by an Attorney Experienced in Environmental Matters |
Legal Risk | Legal liability arising from false or exaggerated eco-friendly advertising | · Before using eco-friendly or carbon-neutrality expressions, conduct a prior check on whether objective facts, figures, and verification materials have been secured
· Establish a legal review process for advertising and promotional materials |
Financial Risk | Fines, compensation, litigation costs, and a contraction in investment | · Recognize ESG and environmental risks as management risks rather than costs
· Conduct a prior risk diagnosis that also considers long-term financial impact |
Reputational Risk | A decline in corporate image and brand trust | · Refrain from promotion centered on an "eco-friendly image" that lacks a substantive basis
· Establish a communication strategy centered on implementation results and verifiable performance |
Management Risk | A collapse of trust in the overall ESG strategy | · Secure consistency among ESG goals, disclosures, and advertising
· Establish an internal review system at the board and management level |
Daeryun Law Firm LLP's One-Stop Response
An attorney experienced in environmental matters recommends that companies recognize greenwashing risk as a significant legal risk and respond to it proactively.
Daeryun Law Firm LLP provides a one-stop environmental and ESG legal service that encompasses the following.
- Prior legal review of ESG- and environment-related advertising language
- Verification of the objective basis for carbon-neutrality and environmental claims
- Global risk diagnosis reflecting foreign regulations and precedents
- Response to disputes with environmental organizations and consumers, and representation in litigation
Legal liability for greenwashing, already realized abroad, is also being applied in Korea through measures such as sanctions by the Fair Trade Commission.
This is a time when establishing an ESG strategy that is prepared for implementation and proof, together with a diagnosis by an attorney experienced in environmental matters, is needed.
If you need assistance, you are welcome to book a 🔗corporate legal consultation at any time.
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