NY State Senate Bill 2025-S841

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2025	referred to consumer protection

co-Sponsors

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add §349-h, Gen Bus L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S9889

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits certain unlawfully deceptive acts or practices involving environmental marketing claims.

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S841

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:asked goal of a clean-
er, 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:

2023-2024: S9889 (May)

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    841
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  MAY,  HOYLMAN-SIGAL,  JACKSON  --  read twice and
   ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
   Consumer Protection
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  general business law, in relation to unlawfully
   deceptive acts or practices regarding environmental marketing claims
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
 349-h to read as follows:
   §  349-H.  UNLAWFULLY  DECEPTIVE  ACTS OR PRACTICES INVOLVING ENVIRON-
 MENTAL MARKETING CLAIMS. 1.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF  THIS  SECTION,  THE
 FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A)  "ENVIRONMENTAL  MARKETING CLAIM" MEANS A REPRESENTATION ABOUT THE
 ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRIBUTE, INCLUDING  CLIMATE  IMPACT,  OF  A  PRODUCT  OR
 SERVICE  IN CONNECTION WITH THE MARKETING, OFFERING FOR SALE, OR SALE OF
 SUCH PRODUCT OR SERVICE TO THE PUBLIC. FOR PURPOSES OF  THIS  PARAGRAPH,
 THE  TERM "MARKETING" INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO LABELING, ADVERTIS-
 ING, PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS, AND ANY OTHER FORM OF APPEAL TO  THE  PUBLIC
 IN  ANY  MEDIUM,  WHETHER  ASSERTED  DIRECTLY OR BY IMPLICATION, THROUGH
 WORDS, SYMBOLS, LOGOS, DEPICTIONS, PRODUCT BRAND NAMES, OR OTHER MEANS.
   (B) "NET ZERO  CLAIM"  MEANS  A  REPRESENTATION  THAT  AN  ENTITY  HAS
 ACHIEVED  AN  OVERALL  BALANCE BETWEEN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS PRODUCED
 AND GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REMOVED FROM THE ATMOSPHERE.
   (C) "PALTERING" MEANS THE USE OF A TRUTHFUL STATEMENT RELATING  TO  AN
 INDUSTRY,  BUSINESS,  PRODUCT, OR SERVICE THAT CREATES AN OVERALL FALSE,
 DECEPTIVE, OR MISLEADING IMPRESSION OR IMPLICATION TO THE PUBLIC THAT  A
 SPECIFIC BENEFIT IS SIGNIFICANT WHEN IT IS IN FACT NEGLIGIBLE AS TO SUCH
 INDUSTRY, BUSINESS, PRODUCT, OR SERVICE.
   (D)  "REPUTATIONAL  ADVERTISING"  MEANS A REPRESENTATION TO THE PUBLIC
 DESIGNED TO CREATE A PERCEPTION OF AN INDUSTRY, BUSINESS,  OR  BRAND  BY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD01388-01-5
 S. 841                              2
 
 HIGHLIGHTING POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITIES OF OR ACTION TAKEN BY SUCH
 INDUSTRY,  BUSINESS, OR BRAND, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH REPRESENTATION
 IS MADE IN CONNECTION WITH THE SALE OF A GOOD OR SERVICE.
   2.  THE  FOLLOWING  ARE UNLAWFULLY DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES FOR THE
 PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE:
   (A) MAKING  AN  UNTRUTHFUL,  DECEPTIVE,  OR  MISLEADING  ENVIRONMENTAL
 MARKETING CLAIM, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
   (I)  ENGAGING  IN  PALTERING THAT MISLEADS OR DECEIVES CONSUMERS AS TO
 THE OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF AN INDUSTRY, BUSINESS,  PRODUCT,  OR
 SERVICE; OR
   (II)  ENGAGING  IN  REPUTATIONAL ADVERTISING THAT MISLEADS OR DECEIVES
 CONSUMERS AS TO THE OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF AN  INDUSTRY,  BUSI-
 NESS, PRODUCT, OR SERVICE; AND
   (B)  MAKING  AN  UNTRUTHFUL,  DECEPTIVE, OR MISLEADING NET ZERO CLAIM,
 INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A CLAIM THAT:
   (I) DOES NOT CLEARLY IDENTIFY THE COVERED PORTION OF AN ENTITY'S EMIS-
 SION PORTFOLIO AND VALUE CHAIN, INCLUDING ALL GREENHOUSE GAS  EMISSIONS,
 ALL  EMISSION SCOPES, AND ALL JOINT VENTURES, SUBSIDIARIES, AND SPECIFIC
 PRODUCT CATEGORIES;
   (II) DOES NOT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN A  BUSINESS'S  EMISSION  REDUCTIONS,
 POST-EMISSION  COMPENSATION,  BOTH  OFFSETS  AND  REMOVALS, AND EMISSION
 DIVESTMENTS, OR OTHERWISE RELIES ON VAST AMOUNTS OF OFFSETS; OR
   (III) IS NOT SUBSTANTIATED BY A COMPANY PLAN OR ACTION.
   3. IF AN ACTION IS BROUGHT UNDER THIS SECTION ALLEGING  AN  UNLAWFULLY
 DECEPTIVE  ACT  OR  PRACTICE  DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION, IT SHALL NOT BE
 REQUIRED THAT THE PERSON WHO BROUGHT SUCH ACTION SUFFERED ANY ASCERTAIN-
 ABLE LOSS AS A RESULT OF THE USE OR EMPLOYMENT OF SUCH UNLAWFULLY DECEP-
 TIVE ACT OR PRACTICE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S841

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S841

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Sponsored By

Rachel May

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

co-Sponsors

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Robert Jackson

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S841 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments