In an SME, a sustainability claim does not mean only a sentence in which the company says it is responsible. A sustainability claim can also be a claim about environmental friendliness, carbon neutrality, or a smaller environmental impact. It can also appear as a symbol, a label, in the name of a product or service, or in the way the company names its selection or an individual product group.
This is an important observation, because a sustainability claim can also arise from the overall impression created by marketing, not only from a single sentence. A company can therefore give a responsible impression even without using the word “responsible.”
In Government Proposal HE 47/2026, which concerns the implementation of the EU directive on empowering consumers for the green transition, an environmental claim is understood broadly. It can be text, an image, graphics, or a symbol that suggests that a product, service, or company has a positive or previously better impact on the environment. This is especially important for an SME on websites, in marketing materials, on packaging, and in social media.
In practice, a sustainability claim can be, for example:
- a claim that a product is ecological or sustainable
- a message that the company operates responsibly
- a leaf symbol or another self-created label
- naming a service or product category as responsible
- a claim of a smaller carbon footprint
- a target of carbon neutrality or climate positivity
From the perspective of an SME, the essential question is whether the communication creates an impression that the company is not able to substantiate sufficiently. For this reason, sustainability claims should be examined more broadly than as merely individual words. A sustainability claim can be the entire way in which a company describes its product, service, or its own operations.
This is also the reason why an SME should carefully go through its own website, service descriptions, product descriptions, packaging, and marketing materials. If a sustainability claim exists, it should be precise, limited, and justified.
Want to learn more about credible sustainability communication? Explore the online course: SME sustainability claims and credible sustainability communication (in Finnish)..
You can also download the free sustainability claims checklist for SMEs (in Finnish).
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