S 841: Prohibits certain unlawfully deceptive acts or practices involving environmental marketing claims.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 841 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (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: 1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 2 349-h to read as follows: 3 § 349-h. Unlawfully deceptive acts or practices involving environ- 4 mental marketing claims. 1. For the purposes of this section, the 5 following terms shall have the following meanings: 6 (a) "Environmental marketing claim" means a representation about the 7 environmental attribute, including climate impact, of a product or 8 service in connection with the marketing, offering for sale, or sale of 9 such product or service to the public. For purposes of this paragraph, 10 the term "marketing" includes but is not limited to labeling, advertis- 11 ing, promotional materials, and any other form of appeal to the public 12 in any medium, whether asserted directly or by implication, through 13 words, symbols, logos, depictions, product brand names, or other means. 14 (b) "Net zero claim" means a representation that an entity has 15 achieved an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced 16 and greenhouse gas emissions removed from the atmosphere. 17 (c) "Paltering" means the use of a truthful statement relating to an 18 industry, business, product, or service that creates an overall false, 19 deceptive, or misleading impression or implication to the public that a 20 specific benefit is significant when it is in fact negligible as to such 21 industry, business, product, or service. 22 (d) "Reputational advertising" means a representation to the public 23 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 1 highlighting positive environmental qualities of or action taken by such 2 industry, business, or brand, regardless of whether such representation 3 is made in connection with the sale of a good or service. 4 2. The following are unlawfully deceptive acts or practices for the 5 purposes of this article: 6 (a) Making an untruthful, deceptive, or misleading environmental 7 marketing claim, including, but not limited to: 8 (i) engaging in paltering that misleads or deceives consumers as to 9 the overall environmental impact of an industry, business, product, or 10 service; or 11 (ii) engaging in reputational advertising that misleads or deceives 12 consumers as to the overall environmental impact of an industry, busi- 13 ness, product, or service; and 14 (b) Making an untruthful, deceptive, or misleading net zero claim, 15 including, but not limited to, a claim that: 16 (i) does not clearly identify the covered portion of an entity's emis- 17 sion portfolio and value chain, including all greenhouse gas emissions, 18 all emission scopes, and all joint ventures, subsidiaries, and specific 19 product categories; 20 (ii) does not distinguish between a business's emission reductions, 21 post-emission compensation, both offsets and removals, and emission 22 divestments, or otherwise relies on vast amounts of offsets; or 23 (iii) is not substantiated by a company plan or action. 24 3. If an action is brought under this section alleging an unlawfully 25 deceptive act or practice described in this section, it shall not be 26 required that the person who brought such action suffered any ascertain- 27 able loss as a result of the use or employment of such unlawfully decep- 28 tive act or practice. 29 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.