Green claims

Overview

Today, consumers struggle to make sense of the many labels on the environmental performance of products (both goods and services) and companies.

Some environmental claims are unreliable, and consumer trust is extremely low. They can often be misled, with some companies giving a false impression of their environmental impacts or benefits — a practice known as greenwashing.

This is why the EU has proposed taking action to address greenwashing and protect consumers and the environment.

Ensuring environmental labels and claims are credible and trustworthy will allow consumers to make better-informed purchasing decisions. It will also boost the competitiveness of businesses striving to increase the environmental sustainability of their products and activities.

Background

As part of the European Green Deal, one of the Circular Economy Action Plan's actions is a proposal for companies to substantiate their environmental claims using robust, science-based, and verifiable methods.

The green claims proposal is closely linked to other EU policies:

All these initiatives seek to establish a coherent policy framework to help the EU to make sustainable goods, services and business models the norm and to transform consumption patterns in a more sustainable direction. They aim to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of products consumed in the EU and contribute to the overall policy objective of EU climate neutrality by 2050.

See also more information on Environmental Footprints Methods.

Existing labels and schemes

EU Ecolabel - the official EU voluntary label for environmental excellence for products
EMAS - the EU's official eco-management and audit scheme, to improve the environmental performance of companies

53% of green claims give vague, misleading or unfounded information
40% of claims have no supporting evidence
Half of all green labels offer weak or non-existent verification
There are 230 sustainability labels and 100 green energy labels in the EU, with vastly different levels of transparency

Objectives and aims

The proposal on green claims aims to:

Make green claims reliable, comparable and verifiable across the EU
Protect consumers from greenwashing
Contribute to creating a circular and green EU economy by enabling consumers to make informed purchasing decisions
Help establish a level playing field when it comes to the environmental performance of products

What's included in the law?

In March 2023, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive on Green Claims. The proposal complements and further operationalises the proposal for a Directive on empowering consumers in the green transition.

Key measures

To ensure consumers receive reliable, comparable and verifiable environmental information on products, the proposal includes:

Clear criteria on how companies should prove their environmental claims and labels
Requirements for these claims and labels to be checked by an independent and accredited verifier
New rules on governance of environmental labelling schemes to ensure they are solid, transparent and reliable

The proposal targets explicit claims that:

Are made voluntarily by businesses towards consumers
Cover the environmental impacts, aspects or performance of a product or the trader itself
Are not currently covered by other EU rules

Some examples of green claims are: