Sustainability claims are now common across the FMCG sector. What increasingly sets brands apart is not what they say, but what they can prove.
With retailers demanding greater transparency from suppliers, regulators taking a closer interest in environmental marketing, and consumers becoming more sceptical of unsupported claims, the conversation has shifted from what organisations say about sustainability to how well they can substantiate it.
For FMCG businesses, that shift is about more than compliance. It is increasingly linked to how brands build trust, strengthen reputation, maintain market access and compete in a crowded marketplace. For many organisations, credible environmental action is becoming a driver of business value as well as environmental performance.
In today's environment, claims can be rapidly challenged by customers, advocacy groups, competitors, regulators, and retailers. For FMCG businesses, this creates an opportunity to build trust and differentiate themselves through transparency, credible data and well-substantiated claims.
Brands that can clearly substantiate their environmental claims are often better positioned to strengthen consumer trust, reinforce brand equity and build confidence among stakeholders. In a crowded marketplace, that credibility can become a meaningful differentiator, helping businesses strengthen retailer relationships, support participation in supplier programmes and respond more efficiently to sustainability-related information requests.
As scrutiny of environmental claims increases, businesses that can support their claims with credible evidence are often better positioned to meet evolving expectations, strengthen customer confidence and pursue new opportunities. For FMCG brands, where purchasing decisions are often made in a matter of seconds, that trust can become a significant competitive advantage. Independent verification helps organisations strengthen that trust by turning sustainability claims from marketing messages into evidence-based statements, giving customers, retailers and other stakeholders greater confidence in the information they receive.
THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF CREDIBILITY
Third-party verification can boost confidence by providing an impartial assessment of environmental performance against recognised standards and independent verification of the data, methodologies and claims that underpin environmental reporting. This supports greater transparency in how impacts are measured and communicated.
Certification uses a structured framework to test the quality of data, methodologies, assumptions, and communication statements, helping businesses identify weaknesses or inaccuracies early. This can reduce the likelihood of greenwashing, whether intentional or accidental, by ensuring claims have been grounded in credible data and clearly defined boundaries.
Importantly, certification can provide documented evidence that can be referenced when customers, regulators, investors, or retailers ask questions, serving as a risk-management tool and helping organisations move from making sustainability claims with confidence to defending them under scrutiny.
TURNING CLAIMS INTO CONFIDENCE
FMCG businesses are increasingly seeking independent review of environmental claims before communicating them externally. One producer, for example, was preparing to introduce a product-level environmental claim in a new market and wanted confidence that the claim would be both meaningful to customers and supported by recognised standards.
While the organisation already had strong internal expertise and a detailed understanding of its environmental data, independent review provided an additional layer of challenge and assurance. By combining the organisation's understanding of its customers with independent expertise in environmental claims and substantiation, the business was able to communicate the claim in a way that maintained credibility, transparency and alignment with recognised standards.
The process also provided independent verification that the claim met relevant standards and requirements, giving the organisation robust supporting evidence to use in discussions with customers, regulators and other stakeholders. In an environment where expectations around environmental claims continue to evolve, that combination of technical rigour and independent assurance can help businesses communicate with greater confidence.
For consumers, recognised certification marks can provide a simple and trusted signal that the data underpinning a claim has been independently verified. Behind that certification mark sits a robust process of measurement, verification and continual improvement. Depending on the programme, businesses may be required to demonstrate environmental management practices, track performance over time, and provide evidence of ongoing improvement.
PUTTING CLIMATE CLAIMS TO THE TEST
A good example of this can be seen in the climate space, where organisations are increasingly expected to measure, disclose and substantiate greenhouse gas emissions data with a high degree of accuracy and transparency. Independent assurance plays an important role in giving stakeholders confidence that climate-related claims are supported by credible evidence and robust measurement practices.
To achieve certification through Toitū’s Climate Impact programme, FMCG businesses must develop a robust greenhouse gas inventory, define clear organisational and operational boundaries, identify material emissions sources, and implement an emissions management and reduction plan with measurable targets. Independent technical reviewers verify that the emissions data, methodologies, assumptions, and claims are accurate, complete, and aligned with recognised standards.
Additionally, businesses must undergo regular reassessments and annual verification, providing updated emissions data and evidence of progress against reduction commitments. This ongoing process helps ensure climate claims and reporting remain credible, defensible, aligned to recognised international standards, and able to withstand rising stakeholder expectations as business operations evolve.
PREPARING FOR WHAT COMES NEXT
As expectations around transparency continue to grow, businesses that invest in robust measurement, independent assurance and continuous improvement will be better positioned to build trust and demonstrate environmental performance with confidence.
Looking ahead, the direction is clear: consumers, retailers, investors, and regulators will continue to demand greater transparency and stronger evidence behind environmental claims. Developments such as the European Union's Green Claims Directive proposals and wider international efforts to tackle greenwashing signal a broader shift towards greater scrutiny and substantiation of environmental claims. Organisations that invest early in robust measurement, assurance and governance will be better positioned to adapt as expectations continue to evolve.
To prepare, FMCG suppliers should focus on robust data management, greater traceability across their value chains and governance processes that ensure environmental claims are reviewed before they are communicated externally. Independent verification should be viewed as part of ongoing reporting and assurance, rather than a one-off exercise.
The businesses best positioned for the years ahead will be those that treat environmental data and assurance with the same rigour they apply to financial, quality and food-safety information. In an increasingly transparent marketplace, strong assurance is becoming less about demonstrating leadership and more about maintaining trust, protecting market access and supporting long-term business performance.
For many FMCG businesses, that is where sustainability, trust and commercial success intersect.
Climate action = smart business
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