Define the claim before collecting proof
Write the exact proposition, product scope, market and time period first. “Made with recycled content” needs a different record from a claim about a lower impact than a comparator.
- State units and boundaries
- Avoid broad terms that cannot be tested
Preserve the original evidence
Keep the supplier statement, test report or calculation input in private storage, record its checksum and retain enough provenance to reproduce the review.
- Record issuer and document date
- Mark expired, superseded or conflicting material
Review the method, not just the file
A document can exist and still fail to support the wording used. Check scope, method, sample, assumptions and whether the evidence covers the exact variant.
- Separate extraction from approval
- Record the reviewer and decision reason
Publish a useful status
Public readers should see whether a value is reviewed, preparatory, unavailable or restricted. A confidence score is not a substitute for evidence.
- Expose only approved fields
- Link to a short explanation of the status
Keep the record changeable but auditable
When the source changes, publish a new version rather than silently rewriting history. Retain the old decision and explain the correction.