Peter Dernbach, Coordinating Partner and member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) 2025 Leadership Meeting Project Team, was recently interviewed by INTA on the topic of the strategic role of IP practitioners in navigating sustainability initiatives and avoiding the pitfalls of greenwashing. Peter is set to moderate a panel at the upcoming INTA Leadership Meeting titled “Sustainability and IP: Aligning Brand Protection with Environmental Goals”.

In the interview, Peter discusses the crucial role of brand protection in building consumer trust in a company’s sustainability efforts, highlighting how brand protection and a company’s sustainability program both rely on trust, and how a well-protected brand can signal that a company “walks the walk” on its environmental promises.

He also offers a key piece of advice for marketers: recognize that green claims are not just marketing messages, but verifiable legal assertions – noting that with an increasing number of jurisdictions developing their own guidelines for substantiating environmental claims, a lack of harmonization makes the landscape complex.

Peter also recommends that intellectual property (IP) practitioners proactively get involved in their organization’s sustainability initiatives by seeking a “seat at the table” during the formulation of ESG goals and marketing campaigns, become knowledgeable about evolving ESG regulations, and help develop a “substantiation library” to support the company’s claims.

You can read the full interview with Peter Dernbach at: https://www.inta.org/perspectives/interviews/aligning-brand-protection-with-environmental-goals-three-questions-with-peter-dernbach/