ACCC Emissions Claims Guide for Tasmanian Businesses
The short answer: if a Tasmanian business promotes a product, service or operation using emissions language, the claim should match the impression an ordinary customer is likely to take from the whole message. The business should be able to support it with credible evidence, define what is covered, distinguish direct reductions from purchased credits, avoid double counting and explain whether a result comes from its own action, a legal requirement or a wider market change.
On 20 October 2026, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released new guidance and a seven-part checklist for emissions claims. The ACCC says businesses should review existing consumer-facing claims and refine the wording, gather stronger evidence or reconsider a claim if the review raises concerns. This is a practical website and marketing checklist for Hobart and Tasmanian businesses; it is not legal or emissions-accounting advice.
What changed on 20 October 2026?
The Australian Consumer Law already prohibited false or misleading representations and misleading or deceptive conduct. The new publication does not create a separate permission system for environmental advertising. Instead, it gives businesses more detailed guidance for presenting emissions information accurately and transparently.
In its 20 October announcement, the ACCC said businesses should use credible, science-based accounting standards, be transparent about purchased credits and consider what average consumers would understand. It also warned against selective, broad or non-specific claims and said future statements need reasonable grounds.
This matters online because a customer may see only a search result, homepage banner, product card, social advertisement or packaging image. A detailed explanation on another page may not correct a strong headline that creates a different overall impression.
Which Tasmanian businesses should review their marketing?
The checklist is relevant whenever emissions language is used to influence a consumer. It is not limited to large energy companies or businesses that publish formal sustainability reports. A Hobart accommodation provider, café, tour operator, retailer, trades business, manufacturer, delivery service or professional firm may need a review if it uses expressions such as:
- carbon neutral, net zero or zero emissions;
- low-carbon, climate positive or emissions free;
- carbon offset, carbon compensated or climate friendly;
- 100% renewable where the wording could imply a wider emissions result;
- greener, cleaner or better for the climate when emissions are part of the comparison;
- emissions reduced by a stated percentage; or
- a future promise to become carbon neutral or reach net zero by a particular year.
Business Tasmania encourages businesses to understand and reduce their environmental impact through its sustainable-business resources. Genuine action can be valuable. The marketing task is to describe that action at the right scale without turning a limited improvement into a broader claim.
A seven-point emissions-claims checklist for websites and ads
1. Test the consumer impression
Read the claim as a customer would see it, not as the internal team intends it. Review the headline, image, badge, comparison, colour treatment, qualification and call to action together. Ask what a reasonable viewer is likely to believe about the product, the transaction and the whole business.
For example, a large “zero-emissions delivery” headline beside a delivery van may suggest the entire delivery process produces no emissions. If only the final kilometre uses an electric vehicle, the prominent message needs to make that boundary clear. A qualification should be easy to notice and understand, not hidden behind a small icon or placed several scrolls away.
2. Connect every claim to evidence and accounting
Record the source behind each claim: calculation, invoice, energy data, supplier statement, certification, audit or emissions inventory. Note who prepared it, the period it covers, the baseline, the part of the operation included and any exclusions.
Do not publish a percentage because it sounds precise. “We cut emissions by 30%” is incomplete if customers cannot tell whether the comparison concerns one product, one site, one activity or the whole business, or whether the baseline changed. The evidence should support the message customers actually receive.
3. Make the claim specific
Narrow, factual wording is easier to understand and verify than a broad slogan. State the activity, location, period and comparison where these details are material.
| Broad wording to review | Information a clearer claim may need | Evidence owner |
|---|---|---|
| “Our business is carbon neutral” | Which entity, sites, emissions sources, accounting period and treatment of credits are covered | Owner, finance lead or qualified adviser |
| “Zero-emissions delivery” | Which delivery stage, vehicle type, area and operational boundary the statement describes | Operations or logistics lead |
| “30% lower emissions” | The item being compared, baseline, method, period and whether the comparison is like for like | Product or sustainability lead |
| “Powered by renewable energy” | The site or activity, energy source, time period and role of certificates or contracts | Facilities or energy-account owner |
| “Net zero by 2030” | Current position, covered emissions, milestones, funded actions, assumptions and credit strategy | Senior decision-maker |
These are information prompts, not approved legal wording. The final statement must be assessed against the business’s own facts and the overall advertisement.
4. Explain the role of credits and certificates
If a claim relies on carbon credits or another certificate, make that role clear. Customers should be able to distinguish operational reductions from credits purchased for activity elsewhere. Avoid presenting those two approaches as identical unless there is a reasonable basis for the exact representation.
Keep the supporting details current: scheme, quantity, period, retirement or surrender status, project information and the part of the claim supported. If a badge links to a certificate, check that the destination works and that the document still corresponds to the period being advertised.
5. Prevent double counting
Confirm that an emissions benefit, credit or certificate is not being claimed more than once. This may require checking contracts and supply-chain statements, especially where a supplier, retailer and customer could each describe the same improvement.
A website team cannot solve this by changing copy alone. The person responsible for the underlying evidence should confirm ownership and use of the claimed benefit before the claim is published.
6. Separate your action from legal or market-wide changes
Explain what the business voluntarily changed. Do not imply that a reduction caused by a legal requirement, a change available to every participant or a general shift in the electricity system is a unique business achievement.
This distinction is particularly important in Tasmania, where businesses may refer to the state’s renewable-energy profile. A state-wide characteristic does not automatically prove that every product, service or business operation has the emissions outcome suggested by a marketing headline.
7. Support future claims with reasonable grounds
A future target should be more than an aspiration presented as a settled outcome. Record what is happening now, what has formal approval, what is funded, the milestones, assumptions, dependencies and the expected role of credits.
If timing or scope changes, update the website, advertisements, proposals and saved templates. A dated target can remain copied across old PDFs and social-media assets long after the underlying plan changes, so include future claims in the business’s regular content review.
Where emissions claims can hide online
Do not review only the sustainability page. Build an inventory across all customer-facing channels:
- homepage hero sections, banners and rotating promotions;
- product, service, booking and checkout pages;
- page titles, meta descriptions and search advertisements;
- Google Business Profile posts and directory descriptions;
- social advertisements, captions, reels and influencer briefs;
- email templates and automated customer journeys;
- downloadable brochures, menus, proposals and capability statements;
- packaging, labels and product images shown online;
- certification badges, icons, footnotes and comparison charts; and
- structured data or feeds that send product information to other platforms.
A good graphic design brief should identify the evidence, required qualification and fixed wording before badges, packaging or campaign assets are designed. That avoids trying to squeeze a material explanation into an already-finished layout.
Practical examples for Hobart businesses
Accommodation and tourism
A property may install efficient lighting, buy renewable electricity or support a credit program. The website should say what changed and what the claim covers. A phrase such as “low-carbon stay” may be interpreted more broadly than a specific statement about electricity used at one property during a defined period.
Food, hospitality and retail
Local ingredients, recyclable packaging and reduced food waste can be worthwhile, but they are different environmental attributes. Do not turn “locally sourced” into an unsupported emissions conclusion. If a delivery or packaging claim is limited to one supplier, product line or suburb, keep that scope visible.
Trades and professional services
A service business may use an electric vehicle for some appointments or purchase credits for travel. Avoid implying that every job or the entire company has no emissions unless the evidence supports that impression. Define the vehicle, service area, dates and remaining sources where relevant.
Online stores
An online store should check product copy, delivery badges and shopping-feed fields together. “Carbon-neutral shipping” needs a clear explanation of the shipping stages and credit arrangements covered. The landing page and checkout should not create conflicting impressions.
A practical review process
- Find every claim. Search the website and marketing library for emissions, carbon, climate, net zero, neutral, offset, renewable, green and related wording.
- Capture the complete context. Save the page URL, screenshot, nearby imagery, qualification, audience, publication date and campaign source.
- Assign an evidence owner. The designer or copywriter should not be expected to validate emissions accounting.
- Record scope and support. Note the entity, product, site, activity, time period, baseline, calculation method, exclusions, credits and supporting documents.
- Apply the ACCC prompts. Test consumer impression, evidence, specificity, credits, double counting, own action and future grounds.
- Revise or remove. Make the message clear at the point a customer sees it. Remove claims that cannot be supported or qualified without changing their overall impression.
- Approve and version. Record who approved the final wording and keep dated evidence with the asset or page record.
- Schedule review. Recheck when data, suppliers, certificates, operations, targets or campaign formats change.
When a claim appears on a key landing page, DanSol’s Hobart web design service can help structure headings, supporting explanations and calls to action so material context is readable across desktop and mobile. The business remains responsible for the claim and its evidence.
Clarity still matters for search and conversion
Specific wording can help both customers and search systems understand what a page is actually about. It also reduces the mismatch between an advertisement and its landing page. However, a qualification should not be written only for search engines or hidden in metadata. The visible page must communicate the claim clearly.
If a business is deciding where to promote a verified sustainability initiative, DanSol’s SEO versus Google Ads guide explains the different roles of ongoing search content and paid campaigns. Whichever channel is used, the same evidence and consumer-impression checks apply.
Frequently asked questions
Does the new ACCC guidance ban carbon-neutral claims?
The guidance does not describe a blanket ban. It says emissions claims must be truthful and accurate, based on reasonable grounds and communicated transparently. The appropriate wording depends on the evidence and the impression the complete marketing creates.
Can a small Tasmanian business rely on a supplier’s claim?
Do not copy a supplier statement without checking what it covers and whether it supports your own message. Ask for the underlying scope, period, method and current documentation. Your advertisement may create a broader impression than the supplier’s original statement.
Is a disclaimer at the bottom of the page enough?
Not necessarily. The ACCC’s golden rule focuses on the consumer impression and marketing context. A qualification should be clear and placed where customers will notice it. A distant footnote may not correct a prominent headline or image.
Should we delete every environmental statement?
No. Factual, specific and supportable information can help customers understand genuine action. Review the claim, evidence, scope and context. If the evidence is incomplete, refine the wording, obtain stronger support or remove the claim until it can be substantiated.
Who should approve emissions wording?
Use a person who understands the underlying operations and evidence, with legal or qualified emissions-accounting advice where the claim is material or complex. Marketing and design teams can improve clarity but should not invent the factual basis.
Last reviewed: 21 October 2026. This article summarises public guidance for practical marketing review and is not legal advice. For the source checklist and examples, read the ACCC’s guide to making emissions claims to consumers.