Better late than never: EU Green Claims Directive clears European Parliament hurdle
The European Parliament has voted in favour of a strong Green Claims Directive, confirming its stance before negotiations on the final text – and the EU elections. In its current state, this law would introduce a game-changing legal framework to eliminate greenwashing. However, regrettably, it could already be too late for the file to be finalised before the elections.
For additional background, please refer to our press briefing, published last week.
Greenwashing is rampant – Europe needs this law
This is an important file and an outcome to celebrate, despite arriving at the eleventh hour. The Green Claims Directive [1] is Europe’s best chance to eliminate the scourge of greenwashing – a growing and alarming practice that allows companies to mislead consumers about the environmental impacts of products.
An enormous 76% of the products on the EU market carry an implicit or explicit green claim, and more than half of environmental claims made by businesses are misleading, unsubstantiated, or inaccurate [2].
This is because rules set in legislation and standards are loose, leaving the door open to greenwashing [3]. This lack of clarity means regulators bear the brunt of the burden. Verifying the vast amount of claims companies make is next to impossible, and even if it happens, the damage has already been done.
MEPs voted to improve the European Commission’s proposal
As well as safeguarding some of the headline provisions in the European Commission’s proposal, the European Parliament also voted to improve some key elements.
Parts of the proposal the European Parliament voted to safeguard:
- Verification of environmental claims by independent verifiers before a product is placed on the market. When adopted, this will be a game-changer in the fight against greenwashing by empowering authorities and supporting companies to make accurate claims.
- Strict sanctions for non-compliance.
Parts of the proposal the European Parliament voted to improve:
- The ban on product claims of carbon/climate neutrality or compensation (introduced in the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive), which needed to be reproduced in the Green Claims Directive to complete the picture. Such claims are misleading when based on carbon offsetting/carbon credits [4]. Unfortunately, the Parliament’s position falls short of banning offsetting claims at trader level, but the stricter rules proposed should at least limit misleading environmental claims.
- Other improvements include more clarity overall, better planning for specific rules on commonly used claims such as ‘biobased’ or ‘reusable’, and better inclusion of civil society in designing these rules within a Green Claims Forum.
Policymakers must keep up the momentum
As this vote took place so close to the EU elections, and the Council still has not published its position, it is unclear when inter-institutional negotiations will begin. This puts the Green Claims Directive at risk. Today’s development means this important legislation could be finalised in 2024, but nothing is set in stone.
It is in Europe’s best interests for negotiations on this law to begin as soon as possible so that greenwashing in the EU can finally be controlled [5]. The Council must adopt or improve the Parliament’s position without delay, while current and future MEPs must heed today’s mandate and keep this file on the agenda.
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Margaux Le Gallou, Programme Manager at ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards, said: Time is running out for the EU to address greenwashing and finalise its Green Claims Directive this year, which the institutions now have a clear mandate to do. With the European Parliament endorsing an improved text, today’s vote was a positive step forward, but it came late, and there are more hurdles to jump. EU policymakers and Member States must commit to finishing this race. Europe desperately needs rules to prevent misleading environmental claims and support consumers and sustainable businesses instead of companies that make false promises – this Directive could be it.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
[1] Proposal for an EU Green Claims Directive, European Commission (March 2023): https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/proposal-directive-green-claims_en
[2] European Commission (2023): https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/green-claims_en
[3] ‘Greenwashing, certified? How to ensure new laws and standards do not rubberstamp dubious climate neutrality claims’, ECOS report (March 2023): https://ecostandard.org/publications/report-greenwashing-certified-how-to-ensure-new-laws-and-standards-do-not-rubberstamp-dubious-climate-neutrality-claims/
[4] ‘EU takes aim at greenwashing in new law to empower consumers – but gaps remain’, ECOS press release (January 2024): https://ecostandard.org/news_events/eu-takes-aim-at-greenwashing-in-new-law-to-empower-consumers-but-gaps-remain/
[5] ‘Position paper on the EU Green Claims Directive’, ECOS (July 2023): https://ecostandard.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Feedback-on-the-Green-Claims-Directive.pdf
[6] ‘Q&A: How MEPs can eliminate greenwashing with new EU rules on environmental claims’, ECOS press briefing (March 2024): https://ecostandard.org/news_events/qa-how-meps-can-eliminate-greenwashing-with-new-eu-rules-on-environmental-claims/
Contact:
If you have questions, please contact me:
Alison Grace
Press & Communications Manager at ECOS
alison.grace@ecostandard.org
+32 493 19 22 59
ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards is an international NGO with a network of members and experts advocating for environmentally friendly technical standards, policies, and laws.
