5 Questions Legal Teams Ask About Environmental Messaging — And How to Answer Them

If you’ve ever drafted a sustainability claim, you’ve probably felt the tension:

🌍 Marketing wants to inspire
⚖️ Legal wants to protect

Both are right.

The trick is answering the questions your legal team will always ask:

1️⃣ Is it truthful and accurate?
– Are we overstating progress?
– Do we have data to back it up?

2️⃣ Is it clear and unambiguous?
– Would an average customer really understand this?
– Or does it rely on jargon like “eco-friendly” or “green”?

3️⃣ Does it omit material information?
– Are we cherry-picking the positive while ignoring significant negatives?
– Would a regulator argue we’ve hidden context?

4️⃣ Is the comparison fair?
– Are we benchmarking apples to apples?
– Or creating an unfair impression against peers or past products?

5️⃣ Is it substantiated?
– Can we provide evidence quickly if challenged?
– Is it independent, credible, and up to date?

At Earthmark, we don’t replace legal advice - but we make these conversations easier by:

✅ Benchmarking brands against their sector so context is clear
✅ Giving an overview of your impact in one dashboard
✅ Translating complex disclosures into consumer-safe signals

The best green comms pass two tests: the regulator’s…and the customer’s.

👉 If you can answer these five questions with confidence, you’re ready to communicate with confidence.