Last month, APGA submitted feedback to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its request for public comment regarding potential updates to the Commission’s Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, more commonly referred to as the “Green Guides.” APGA jointly submitted the comments with the American Gas Association (AGA) and the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA).
FTC created the Green Guides to help marketers, which can include APGA members, avoid making environmental claims that mislead consumers. The Green Guides were initially issued in 1992 and have been revised a number of times over the years. Covered topics include carbon offsets, non-toxic claims, and "made with renewable energy” claims, among others. The recent request for public comment requested feedback on the existing sections of the Green Guides, as well as the potential to add new sections.
APGA’s comments focused on the FTC’s authority to address false and misleading statements in commercial speech, the standard of judicial review of commercial speech, and the need to permit ongoing public discourse on environmental issues. The trade associations jointly argued that the FTC should not use the Green Guides to wade into environmental public policymaking, which is outside of the scope of its authorizing statute.
Through the comment letter, APGA also asked the FTC to issue a new rulemaking for any proposed revisions with the opportunity for public comment before making any updates to the Green Guides. APGA will continue to monitor FTC activities related to the Green Guides and engage as appropriate.
A copy of the comments is available here.
For questions on this article, please contact Stuart Saulters of APGA staff by phone at 202-802-0493 or by email at ssaulters@apga.org.