On 22 January 2026, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published new guidance for businesses on complying with UK consumer law when making environmental claims, with a particular focus on supply chain responsibilities.

The guidance builds on the CMA’s existing Green Claims Code and aims to clarify how liability for misleading environmental claims may arise where multiple businesses are involved, particularly where a party is not directly making the claim to consumers or where another party holds information needed to substantiate it.

Environmental claims often pass through several hands before reaching consumers – from manufacturers and suppliers through to distributors, brands and retailers. The CMA’s guidance addresses a question many businesses have raised in practice: who is responsible when a green claim turns out to be misleading?

Shared liability across the supply chain

The CMA’s position is that responsibility may be shared across the supply chain, and when making environmental claims, every business must ensure they comply with consumer law and ensure consumers get clear and accurate information on green claims.

While a claim could originate from one source in the supply chain, when it gets passed on from one party to the other and reproduced, the responsibility for its accuracy also gets passed on. When assessing whether the law has been complied with, the CMA may consider factors such as the role each business played in creating, approving or communicating the claim, the information available to each party, and the reasonable steps each party took, or could have taken, to obtain substantiation and verify the claim’s accuracy.

In practice, manufacturers and suppliers may hold the technical evidence underpinning environmental claims, while brands and retailers often communicate those claims directly to consumers through packaging, advertising or product listings. Where a business repeats a claim (whether directly or indirectly or by passing information from others to consumers), the CMA indicates it should take reasonable steps to verify the information rather than relying on it at face value.

Retailers may also bear primary responsibility where claims are created or amplified at the point of sale – for example through product descriptions/categorisation or marketing materials. However, brands and/or manufacturers may still be implicated where those claims are based on information they provided or helped develop.

Continuing importance of the Green Claims Code

The CMA emphasises that the new guidance sits alongside the Green Claims Code. Environmental claims must therefore remain clear, accurate and supported by appropriate evidence. The guidance also reemphasises the importance of consumers being given the information they need to understand a claim at the point it is made, with key qualifications presented clearly rather than hidden behind QR codes, links or expandable sections.

Practical considerations for businesses

The CMA’s guidance includes examples and checklists to help businesses assess environmental claims in practice. In the light of the CMA’s approach, businesses should:

• Verify environmental claims obtained from third parties: take reasonable steps to obtain supporting data, evidence or contractual assurances from suppliers to confirm that the claim can be substantiated, rather than relying on it at face value.

• Maintain evidence trail: retain records and evidence supporting the substantiation of environmental claims. This may be important if the accuracy of those claims is later in question.

• Regularly review environmental claims and supporting information: introduce periodic checks of product information, supplier documentation or marketing materials to ensure they remain accurate.

• Implement internal governance processes around environmental claims: consider introducing internal governance processes for environmental claims. This may include internal policies on environmental claims and training for staff involved in creating, approving or communicating such claims. While not strictly mandated, the CMA indicates that the presence (or absence) of such processes may be relevant when assessing liability across the supply chain.

• Avoid claims that cannot be substantiated: Where a claim cannot be properly verified, reconsider how the claim is framed or whether it should be made at all. In some cases, this may require further engagement with suppliers and in some cases the need to reconsider trading relationships where reliable substantiation cannot be obtained.

Since April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) has given the CMA significantly stronger direct enforcement powers. The regulator can now determine breaches of consumer protection law (without needing to go to court) and impose various sanctions including substantial financial penalties of up to 10% of annual global turnover or £300,000 (whichever is greater).

The CMA has emphasised that while it aims to support compliant businesses through guidance, enforcement will be central under the new regime – noting that “alongside the carrot, there’s the stick”. This approach is already evident: in November 2025, the CMA launched a major consumer protection drive targeting online pricing practices, opening investigations into eight businesses and issuing advisory letters to 100 others across multiple sectors (our analysis of these early actions can be found here).

These early actions signal that the CMA intends to move quickly from guidance to enforcement where it believes consumers may be harmed.

While responsibility may arise across the supply chain, the guidance suggests the CMA is more likely to prioritise enforcement against businesses who:

• should reasonably have been aware of their consumer law obligations, particularly where regulatory guidance already exists or similar claims have previously been challenged by regulators such as the CMA or the Advertising Standards Authority;

• lack internal training and approval processes for reviewing and approving environmental claims, such as verification or sign-off procedures for marketing materials; and

• play a central role in communicating claims to consumers, or are best placed to remedy the issue where consumers may have been misled.

With regulatory scrutiny increasing and enforcement powers now greatly expanded, businesses should review their sustainability messaging and supply-chain governance to ensure they can substantiate any environmental claims made to consumers.

If you would like to discuss any of the above issues with our experienced consumer team, please contact Claire Livingstone.

More information about the DMCCA can be found on our tracker page here.