Greenwashing Checker Tool: How to Use It to Scan Any Website
You've heard about the EU cracking down on greenwashing. You know generic environmental claims are being banned. But how do you actually check whether a website — yours or someone else's — contains problematic claims? That's what our free greenwashing checker was built for.
The tool scans any publicly accessible website and flags text that matches the EU's list of restricted and banned environmental terms. No registration, no payment, no sales pitch. Enter a URL, get a report.
How the Greenwashing Checker Works
Step 1: Enter the URL
Go to the scanner on our homepage and enter any website URL. The tool works on full websites (scans the main page and up to 50 linked pages) or individual page URLs.
Step 2: The Scanner Crawls and Extracts
The tool retrieves the page content, extracts all text, and segments it into individual claims. It ignores navigation elements, footers, and cookie banners — focusing on substantive content where environmental claims are likely to appear.
Step 3: Matching Against the EU Prohibited Terms Database
Each extracted claim is compared against our database of restricted and banned terms derived from the ECGT directive and supporting EU guidance. The matching uses:
- Exact matching — Specific banned terms like "eco-friendly," "carbon neutral," "climate positive"
- Fuzzy matching — Variations and synonyms: "eco friendly" (without hyphen), "environmentally friendly," "nature-friendly"
- Contextual matching — Terms that are only problematic in certain contexts: "green" when used as an environmental attribute (not a colour), "natural" when describing product characteristics (not ingredients)
Step 4: Risk Classification
Each flagged claim is classified by risk level:
- High risk (Red) — Black List items under the ECGT: generic claims, offset-based neutrality claims, self-created labels. These are per-se violations with no defence.
- Medium risk (Amber) — Claims that may be compliant with proper substantiation but are phrased in ways that regulators would scrutinise. "Sustainable" with some supporting context but insufficient specificity.
- Low risk (Yellow) — Claims that are potentially fine but should be reviewed. Specific claims that might need methodology disclosure, comparative claims that need benchmark specification.
Step 5: Report Generation
The report shows:
- Overall risk score (0-100)
- Number of claims flagged by risk level
- Each flagged claim with its source URL, the specific text, the matched term, and the relevant ECGT provision
- Recommended action for each flagged claim
Interpreting Your Results
Score 0-20: Low Risk
Your website has few or no flagged environmental claims. This either means you're already compliant or you don't make many environmental claims. If you do make environmental claims and nothing was flagged, it's likely because your claims are specific and well-substantiated — which is exactly what the ECGT requires.
Score 21-50: Moderate Risk
Some claims need attention. Typically, this means a few generic terms scattered across your site — sustainability pages, about pages, product descriptions. Review each flagged item and either substantiate with specific evidence or reformulate.
Score 51-80: High Risk
Multiple claims flagged across several pages. Common pattern: a sustainability page full of generic language, carbon neutrality claims, and self-created labels. Priority action required before enforcement begins.
Score 81-100: Critical Risk
Systemic greenwashing patterns detected. Environmental claims are pervasive, unsubstantiated, and include multiple Black List violations. This level typically triggers regulatory attention in enforcement sweeps. Immediate remediation recommended.
What to Do With Flagged Claims
For Red (High Risk) Items
These need immediate action. Options:
- Remove — Delete the claim entirely. Simplest and safest.
- Substantiate — Replace generic language with specific, verifiable claims backed by documented evidence. "Eco-friendly" becomes "Made from 90% recycled aluminium, certified by ASI."
- Qualify — Add context that makes the claim specific. "Sustainable" becomes "Sustainable sourcing: 100% of our coffee beans are Rainforest Alliance certified."
For Amber (Medium Risk) Items
Review and tighten:
- Add evidence references — Link to certification pages, sustainability reports, or methodology disclosures
- Increase specificity — Replace approximate language with exact figures and sources
- Disclose scope — Specify what the claim covers and what it doesn't
For Yellow (Low Risk) Items
Monitor and document:
- Maintain evidence files — Ensure supporting documentation exists and is current
- Review methodology disclosures — Comparative claims should reference methodology
- Set review reminders — Check these claims quarterly to ensure evidence remains current
Scanning Competitor Websites
The tool works on any public website — not just your own. This is useful for:
- Competitive intelligence — Understanding how competitors position their environmental claims and whether those claims are at risk
- Industry benchmarking — Comparing your compliance status against sector peers
- Supplier due diligence — Checking whether supplier environmental claims are substantiated before relying on them in your own marketing
- Consumer protection — Verifying claims before purchasing decisions
Note: scanning competitor websites tells you about their claims' compliance risk, not their actual environmental performance. A company with no flagged claims might have excellent compliance processes — or might simply not make any environmental claims at all.
Limitations of Automated Scanning
Our tool is a screening tool, not a legal compliance audit. It catches the most common and highest-risk patterns, but has limitations:
- Cannot verify factual accuracy — If a claim says "85% recycled content" and the real figure is 40%, the scanner sees a specific claim and doesn't flag it. Factual verification requires physical auditing.
- Cannot assess evidence quality — A claim might reference an LCA, but the scanner can't evaluate whether the LCA is methodologically sound or up to date.
- Misses visual greenwashing — Green colour palettes, nature imagery, and eco-themed design elements aren't captured by text analysis.
- Limited to website text — Packaging, social media, and video content aren't scanned. These channels also carry compliance obligations.
For a comprehensive compliance assessment, combine automated scanning with a manual review using our greenwashing detection guide.