Copy each environmental claim that customers can see. Mark whether matching evidence is held, the wording is estimated, the evidence is missing, or the sentence is not a claim. Held means the named record matches this wording, scope, period and audience or channel. Completing the register is not substantiation and not CMA or ASA approval.

Download the blank register. The six principles stay on the Green Claims Code page. Channel workflow stays on the marketing-claims guide. Report sentences stay on the reporting evidence register. Carbon-neutral wording has its own question list.

A filled register is not a lawful claim

evidence_status is held, estimate_only, missing or not_a_claim.

held needs an identified record that matches this row’s claim_text, product_or_scope, evidence period, and audience or channel. evidence_wording_match, evidence_scope_match, evidence_period_match and evidence_audience_channel_match are yes, no or unknown. Any no or unknown stays withheld. A record held for a different product or period cannot clear.

estimate_only needs estimate_method, limitations, and claim_text that actually identifies the estimate. A nonempty status is not enough.

missing stays missing.

not_a_claim needs not_a_claim_reason tied to the environmental impression a named audience would take. A page labelled internal is not an automatic exemption. A neutral factual public statement is not automatically an environmental claim solely because it is public.

approval_status is draft, internally_reviewed, published, expired or withdrawn. internally_reviewed needs reviewer_role, review_date, review_scope and review_evidence_location naming an actual internal review. Filling the CSV does not create that review.

publication_decision is do_not_publish or internally_cleared. internally_cleared is a recorded internal decision that this wording, scope, period and channel may currently be used. It is allowed only when evidence is held or estimate_only, all four match fields are yes, approval is internally_reviewed or published, and expiry_date is filled and current relative to the stated evaluation date. On an internally_reviewed row it means clearance pending publication. On a published unexpired row it preserves that prior decision for the live wording. Publication does not make the row incoherent. An expired or withdrawn row cannot remain internally cleared for continued use.

Publication does not erase review history. Keep reviewer fields and first_published_date. published_date is the actual date this wording went live on this channel. After expiry_date, set approval_status to expired, publication_decision to do_not_publish, and live_claim_action to re_review or withdraw_live. A withdrawn row uses approval_status withdrawn and publication_decision do_not_publish.

Escalation fields stay blank unless the row is withheld or expired. register_status is incomplete, record_complete_with_unresolved_claims or record_complete. There is no substantiated, lawful, assured or approved value.

For commercial practices from 6 April 2025, Chapter 1 of Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 replaced the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. The CMA’s 22 January 2026 supply-chain explainer says the Green Claims Code documents continue to apply in substance. Completing this file is not that substantiation.

Report-sentence evidence on the reporting evidence register may still be relevant to a consumer claim. Keep the two files by task. A report is not a legal exemption.

Claim-control register

Save a copy of the blank file and type into the copy. The files are plain CSV with no formulas.

Columns: record_type, claim_id, claim_text, channel, audience, product_or_scope, evidence_status, evidence_location, evidence_wording_match, evidence_period_match, evidence_scope_match, evidence_audience_channel_match, estimate_method, limitations, not_a_claim_reason, owner_role, reviewer_role, review_date, review_scope, review_evidence_location, approval_status, expiry_date, publication_decision, first_published_date, published_date, live_claim_action, escalation_reason, escalated_to_role, register_status and note.

record_type is claim or register. Claim rows require claim_id, claim_text, channel, audience, product_or_scope, evidence_status and publication_decision. Register rows summarise register_status and may leave claim-specific fields blank. Do not paste the CMA 13-point list as required rows. Copy claims you actually make.

Carbon-neutral wording has its own question list. Recyclability rows need collection evidence for the claimed audience. Compostable wording needs a confirmed disposal route. Social posts also use the post review sheet.

Worked example: Northgate’s website claim

Northgate Services is fictional. This example register is evaluated as of 13 October 2026. register_status is record_complete_with_unresolved_claims. Completing the rows is not a lawful claim.

Claim Evidence Decision
Eco-friendly mailers on the homepage missing internally_reviewed and do_not_publish. The signature does not fill the gap.
December 2025 billed office electricity was 1,000 kWh, on an internal operations page not_a_claim The named staff audience would take a billed-quantity fact, not an environmental benefit. The same sentence on a public page would need reassessment of the environmental impression and presentation a consumer audience would take. Public placement is not an automatic environmental claim.
This office's cardboard box is accepted in the workplace dry-recycling bin held, all match fields yes published on 10 March 2026, internally_cleared retained, expiry 2 March 2027. Workplace homepage wording only. Consumer recyclability stays missing. This homepage review does not clear a social-story version.
Our 2024 billed electricity was 1,000 kWh, on the 2026 homepage Bill B-2025-12, evidence_period_match no do_not_publish. A record held for a different period cannot clear.
Estimated calendar-2025 office electricity is 12,000 kWh estimate_only, method and limitations named internally_cleared. Expiry 2 March 2027 is current as of 13 October 2026. The wording identifies the estimate. Review history is retained. A nonempty status would not have been enough.
We run a low-impact office, previously published Review history retained expired, withdraw_live. It cannot remain internally cleared for continued use.

Limits

This is not the CMA or ASA checklist, not the reporting evidence register, and not a legal opinion. A ticked file is not substantiation. This guide covers UK consumer-facing claims. The EU Green Claims proposal is not presented here as operative EU law or as a settled withdrawal.

Once a vague line is listed, rewrite it against held evidence.