In Viridis Veritas

Greenwashing, where companies falsely claim to be environmentally friendly, undermines genuine sustainability efforts. The practice misleads consumers, erodes trust, and diverts resources from real environmental initiatives. Several jurisdictions have implemented legal protections against greenwashing to ensure environmental claims are truthful and to prevent deceptive practices. This includes the European Union enforcing the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the United States enforcing the Green Guides under the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) enforcing laws against misleading and deceptive conduct. Preventing greenwashing is crucial to maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of a biodiversity credit market. Biodiversity credits are designed to incentivise conservation efforts and protect ecosystems, but their value hinges on the authenticity of the projects they support. If greenwashing infiltrates a market, it can lead to funding for superficial or non-impactful projects, thereby failing to achieve real biodiversity benefits. Ensuring transparency, rigorous verification, and accountability mechanisms are in place is essential to protect the credibility of biodiversity credits. Our aim is to build the world's best biodiversity credit market, one that recognises the true value of nature, results in an equitable distribution of benefits and empowers local communities along the way!