Nearly 53% of environmental declarations give vague, misleading or unfounded information. Therefore, the European Commission wants to set new criteria to stop companies from making misleading claims about environmental merits of their products and services.
Overview
Appearing in the early 90s, the term « greenwashing » is still relevant today. Today it is difficult for consumers to make sense of the many labels on the environmental performance of products (both goods and services) and companies.
Objectives
The European Commission has set the following objectives:
- 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 environmental performance of products
Law
In March 2023, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive on Green Claims. 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 and
- new rules on governance of environmental labelling schemes to ensure they are solid, transparent and reliable
Source: European Commission, 2023. Read the full article
September 2023
