When it comes to policing corporate environmental claims, governments have typically employed three main regulatory approaches: sustainability-related disclosure requirements, truthful advertising regulations and government-led certification and recognition programs.

Disclosure requirements typically regulate what information publicly traded companies must disclose, in public reports and/or filings with regulators, related to their current and expected financial performance. These requirements are intended to provide investors and shareholders with fair access to information relevant for making investment decisions. Sustainability-related disclosure requirements stipulate what companies must disclose related to the environmental and social impacts of their operations, along with relevant corporate governance arrangements.

Truthful advertising regulations place legal constraints around what companies are allowed to claim with respect to the qualities, characteristics, or performance of their products and services. Typically, such regulations address product- or service-specific advertising claims, such as whether they are “environmentally friendly,” although they may extend to corporate-level sustainability claims in certain circumstances.

Environmental certification and recognition programs are government-led programs that formally recognize non-state actors (including companies) for exceptional environmental performance. They can take a variety of forms, but typically involve either ecolabelling programs, which are used to certify products that meet technical standards for environmental performance, or corporate recognition programs that provide technical guidance along with recognition for actors who demonstrate exemplary performance in setting and achieving voluntary environmental goals.