Publications

In the era of increased environmental awareness, the spotlight on green claims has never been more intense. As consumers are concerned about global heating and ecological sustainability, they are scrutinizing products like never before, seeking eco-friendly options that align with their values. In response, businesses have responded to this concern and consumers’ purchase interest, with brand-owners increasingly highlighting the benign or even beneficial effects their products and services have on the environment fostering a surge in green marketing initiatives. Yet, amidst this push for sustainability, the risk of being accused of greenwashing is omnipresent. As environmental characteristics of products and services are highly technical and the understanding of the various concepts involved is continuously changing, en­vir­on­ment­al/sus­tain­ab­il­ity claims raise a significant risk of confusing and misleading consumers. Many companies have fallen foul of advertising standards in this area recently. Given the high sensitivity of environmental claims and the reputational damage that can result from allegations of greenwashing, it is particularly important to make sure environmental claims are compliant. By ensuring truthful, accurate and unambiguous information is always given to the consumers, companies can avoid the risks and build a reputation for authenticity in their sustainability advertising and communications. CMS guides companies through the maze of regulations and case law and advise on the steps a company can take to ensure their advertising is not only compliant but also authentic and impactful. The priority questions we address are: Which green claims are likely to raise litigation or regulatory enforcement risks?What can businesses do to mitigate these risks?What are the likely claims/en­force­ment that could arise?Who is likely to make a claim?What are the risks in the event of a violation or a complaint? What future regulatory measures are expected and what companies have to do now to be prepared? We offer various solutions to help you be compliant and avoid accusations of greenwashing: Sustainability claim checks including regulatory risk matrix as well as litigation: evaluating the planned claims and mapping their risk as well as developing compliant marketing strategies and claims custom-tailored to your business's unique pro­file;Sus­tain­ab­il­ity-re­lated litigation: providing comprehensive support in legal disputes in the area of advertising with environmental claims;Training sessions: to empower your legal, compliance and sustainability as well as advertising teams with in-depth knowledge of sustainability risks and mitigation strategies; andBoard packs: to equip your directors/board members with actionable insights into greenwashing risks, ensuring they steer the company toward sustainable strategies with confidence and integrity.  For an initial conversation on how we can support you on greenwashing risk, please reach out to the lawyers listed on this page or to your usual CMS contact.

Data-driven insights into class action risk across Europe

Introduction   Many countries across the globe have taken significant steps towards embracing hydrogen as a pivotal component of their energy landscape. With the aim of fulfilling their commitments...

The renewables sector has undergone rapid change in recent years. During the pandemic, many countries tried to boost their economies through strong tax and financial incentives for energy efficiency works...

The M&A activity related to Energy plants and investments has strongly increased in the last years by undergoing significant transformation in the energy industry driven by technological advancements...

Land is a finite resource. As the world collectively pushes towards achieving Net Zero targets, more and more land will need to be used for renewable energy projects, including solar farms, wind farms...

Three Recent Developments in the EU’s Treatment of Energy Disputes  In the past five years, the EU has taken an increasingly aggressive stance against intra-EU investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS”)...

We are pleased to share with you the 2024 edition of the European M&A Outlook, published by CMS in association with Mergermarket.

Data-driven insights into class action risk across Europe, a key concern for major corporates

Law no. 2020-105 of 10 February 2020 on combating wastage and on the circular economy ("loi relative à la lutte contre le gaspillage et à l’économie circulaire", hereinafter "AGEC Law"), has re­volu­tion­ised...

A warm welcome... ... to the fourth edition of the GDPR Enforcement Tracker Report – the anniversary edition celebrating five years of GDPR. In the five years since the GDPR became applicable its powerful framework for imposing fines has certainly helped to raise awareness and encourage compliance efforts – just as the European legislator intended. At the same time, the risk of fines of up to EUR 20 million or 4% of a company’s global annual turnover can also lead to fear and reluctance or ignorance about compliance issues. We still believe that facts are better than fear. This is why we continuously update our list of publicly known fines in the GDPR  Enforcement Tracker and started the GDPR Enforcement Tracker Report as an annual deep dive approach to provide you with more insights into the world of GDPR fines. As in the three previous editions, the GDPR Enforcement Tracker Report starts with the Executive Summary (also available as a PDF version), followed by the “Numbers and Figures” section and the “Enforcement Insights per business sector” (also including the overarching employment category. The “Enforcement Insights per country” provide background on the specific enforcement framework under national law. Some remarks on our methodology can be found at the very end of the report.

Digitalisation has transformed how consumer products are manufactured, distributed and sold. The push to maintain a competitive advantage, drives increased investment in new technologies. This investment may reduce operational cost and ease the retention of legacy systems, but what challenges arise and how do businesses approach the changing risk profile?This report is a deep dive into data first produced for the re­port Tech­no­logy Transformation: Managing Risks in a Changing Landscape. In the original report we surveyed over 500 corporate counsel and risk managers from multiple industries across the world. Here, we look in detail at the 75 respondents surveyed in the consumer and retail sector, and their perspectives on the risks associated with busi­ness-crit­ic­al technologies, including emerging technologies. Our survey shows that businesses across the sector, whether retailers or manufacturers, have the same concerns but the influences on the adoption of technology, the resulting risks, and the approaches taken to mitigate or resolve those risks vary depending on whether or not the business involves a direct sales relationship with the consumer. Download the consumer and retail sector report now to read about: Drivers of technology adoption in the consumer and retail sectorNew risks emerging and traditional barriers to risk man­age­ment­Cur­rent technology risks in the consumer and retail sectorFuture risks and measures to deal with themPreferred approaches to technology dispute resolution for the consumer and retail sector