Can an SME say it is responsible? It can, but the claim is at the same time very broad and therefore also risky. The problem is usually not the word itself, but that the recipient may understand it much more broadly than the company intends.
If a company states that it is responsible, the listener or reader may easily interpret that the entire business, all products, the whole supply chain, and all practices are responsible. In many cases, however, the actual actions of an SME are more limited. A company may, for example, have developed its packaging, improved material choices, made sustainability commitments, or introduced new practices, but this does not automatically mean that such a broad overall claim about the entire company is justified.
This is precisely why general sustainability claims are sensitive. In the Government Proposal HE 47/2026, which concerns the implementation of the EU Green Transition Consumer Protection Directive, there is a clear notion that communication can become problematic even when something true is presented as an overly broad whole. What matters is not only whether an individual piece of information is true, but also the overall impression created by the message.
From the perspective of an SME, a safer approach is to explain more precisely what responsibility actually means. Instead of a general claim, the company can describe, for example, what has been changed, what is being aimed for, what can already be demonstrated, and what is still under development. The more specific the claim, the more credible it usually is.
Often, a better approach than saying directly “we are a responsible company” is to explain how responsibility is reflected in practice. This keeps the communication closer to actual actions and makes it more robust also under closer scrutiny.
A good practical rule is simple: if the claim sounds big, it must be backed by equally strong evidence.
Also read: When Must a Sustainability Claim Be Substantiated?
Sustainability claims and sustainability communication under tightening regulation: What Can an SME Say About Its Sustainability?
Explore the online course: Sustainability claims and credible sustainability communication for SMEs (in Finnish).
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