European Commission to tackle greenwashing

On 22 March, the European Commission presented its proposal for a directive against greenwashing and misleading environmental claims. The directive aims to ensure that consumers can make informed choices in favour of environmentally friendly products and services. It also aims to curb companies that use greenwashing to gain an unfair competitive advantage.

In future, traders will have to carry out a detailed assessment of environmental claims to ensure that they are scientifically substantiated and truthful. In particular, where these environmental claims relate to comparable products from other retailers, it must be ensured that the assessment is based on an equivalent methodology.

Environmental labels should also be made more transparent and consistent so that they provide the final consumer with meaningful information on the environmental standards of the product or service. To ensure this, the labels will in future be verified and validated by national authorities.

The proposal for the Green Claims Directive has launched an eight-week stakeholder feedback period. It will then have to be approved by the European Parliament and the Member States.