BILL NUMBER: S9889
SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to unlawfully
deceptive acts or practices regarding environmental marketing claims
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Prohibits greenwashing of marketing claims, where companies use untruth-
ful, deceptive, or misleading claims to sell environmentally- friendly
products and services.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Amends the general business law by adding a new section, 349-h.
Section one defines terms used in the bill.
Section two prohibits marketing environmental claims that are mislead-
ing, deceptive, or untruthful.
Section three establishes citizens do not need to have suffered any
ascertainable loss because of the use of the deceptive act or practice.
Section four establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
As the impact of climate disruption has become clearer, many companies
have emerged offering solutions. Sometimes they sell products that prom-
ise a lower carbon footprint or a more sustainable manufacturing proc-
ess. Sometimes they sell services that promise to remove carbon from the
atmosphere or otherwise allow the economy to operate on a zero-emissions
basis. Many of these products and services are legitimate efforts to
reduce our impact on the planet through reducing or eliminating emis-
sions. That is not always the case. We have seen too often that terms
like sustainable, low carbon, and zero emissions are used by many corpo-
rations, but as the terms are largely unregulated, they can be deployed
accurately - or misleadingly. In the latter case, this is sometimes
referred to informally as greenwashing.
Corporate actions are often inconsistent with their greenwashed claims.
Many of these products and services are deceptively marketed to appeal
to consumers who are conscious of the threat of climate change and who
are increasingly looking to purchase products and services they perceive
as sustainable. When consumers or institutions spend their money on a
product based on claims of sustainability, they should be certain that
those products work the way they are described, are manufactured with
sustainability in mind, and will help achieve the desired goal of a
cleaner, healthier, and greener planet.
This legislation is a step in the direction of holding dishonest corpo-
rations accountable. By creating a right of action for individuals to
hold manipulative and dishonest corporations accountable, we will give
every day New Yorkers a stronger sense that they can trust sustainabili-
ty claims are not merely greenwashing of harmful products and processes.
It is time that states like New York create laws that address greenwash-
ing to prevent corporations from lying in pursuit of profit and enable
consumers and communities to take deceptive businesses to court if they
do.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None to the state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.