The European Commission has launched its Directive on Green Claims, a new set of rules developed to crack down on and protect consumers from greenwashing through unsubstantiated environmental claims being made by companies.
The new Directive requires that companies verify all their environmental claims and labels to a set of minimum requirements that includes the provision of scientific evidence to back all statements made.
The Directive has been launched in light of a recent study by the European Commission that found that more than half of green claims made by companies in the EU were vague or misleading, while 40% were unsubstantiated.
Frans Timmermans, executive vice president for the European Green Deal, said: “Green claims are everywhere: ocean-friendly t-shirts, carbon-neutral bananas, bee-friendly juices, 100% CO2 compensated deliveries and so on.
“Unfortunately, way too often, these claims are made with no evidence and justification whatsoever. This opens the door to greenwashing and puts companies making genuinely sustainable products at a disadvantage.”
According to the proposals, companies will be required to ensure the reliability of their voluntary environmental claims, which will need to be independently verified and proven with scientific evidence. Companies will be required to identify environmental impacts relevant to their products, and also to identify any possible trade-offs.
The new rules also set out to address the consumer confusion and distrust derived from the volume of private environmental labels in use across Europe. The Commission states that at least 230 different green labels are currently in use. However, under the proposals, new labelling schemes won’t be allowed unless developed at EU level with new schemes approved only if they demonstrate greater environmental ambition than existing ones.
Businesses based outside of the EU making voluntary environmental claims directed at EU consumers will also have to respect the new requirements. This will encourage global partners to contribute to the green transition, in particular businesses trading within the internal market.
Virginijus Sinkevicius, commissioner for environment, oceans and fisheries, said: “All of us want to do our best to limit the impacts of our consumption choices on the environment, but it’s not easy being green. We are bombarded with information.
“There are at least 230 different ecolabels on the EU market. Being able to trust green claims and labels on products is important. The proposals tabled by the commission today will protect businesses and consumers from harmful greenwashing practices and tackle the proliferation of labels.
“We want to help consumers become more confident about their choices and ensure those companies that make genuine efforts to reduce their impacts on nature, resource use, climate emissions, or pollution are rewarded.
“We should also advance on using common trustworthy labels like the EU Ecolabel, which is a mark of environmental excellence on our single market.”
