The European Council has officially adopted a directive designed to protect consumers from deceptive green claims and other greenwashing practices. This directive includes measures to prohibit unverified generic environmental assertions like “environmentally friendly” or “biodegradable,” as well as claims based on emissions offsetting schemes.
This announcement signifies the final significant stride in the legislative process, with the directive’s adoption now concluded, following its recent approval in Parliament.
The decision to implement this new directive follows the European Commission’s release of proposals in March 2022, aimed at updating regulations safeguarding consumers from unfair commercial practices, particularly those related to misleading or aggressive advertising. These updates encompass aspects of the unfair commercial practices directive (UCPD) and the consumer rights directive (CRD), incorporating elements pertinent to the green transition and circular economy. A recent study conducted by the Commission revealed that over half of the green claims made by companies in the EU were ambiguous or misleading, with 40% entirely lacking substantiation.
Key aspects of the new directive include provisions to enhance the clarity of product labels by banning the use of generic environmental claims without adequate evidence and the regulation of sustainability labels to permit only the use of those based on official certification schemes or established by public authorities.
The directive also focuses on enhancing product durability, requiring guarantee information to be more prominently displayed on products and requires the creation of a standardized label to highlight goods with extended guarantee periods. Moreover, it prohibits baseless claims regarding durability, premature replacement prompts for consumables, or false representations of goods as repairable.
While retaining the core objectives of the Commission’s initial proposal, the final text of the directive, agreed upon by the EU Parliament and Council added several new elements. These include the prohibition of claims based on carbon offsetting schemes suggesting a product’s neutral, reduced, or positive environmental impact, strengthening criteria surrounding sustainability labels, and intensifying monitoring of claims concerning products’ future environmental performance.
This directive is part of a comprehensive package of consumer-oriented environmental and circular economy-focused proposals by the EU Commission, which also includes regulations on ecodesign, directives on green claims, and initiatives promoting repair (right to repair).
Now that adoption is complete, the directive awaits signature by the presidents of the Parliament and the Council. Upon publication in the EU’s Official Journal, member states will have 2 years to integrate the rules into their national law.
Following the adoption, Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy and Employment, remarked: “Thanks to the directive adopted today, consumers will be better informed, better protected, and better equipped to be real actors of the green transition.”
Source: ESG Today
For more information, please contact:
Karlheinz ZUERL – CEO of GTEC (German Technology & Engineering Cooperation)
E-Mail: [email protected]
Mobile: + 86 13482438080
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