The Green Claims Directive

The directive is a big milestone in the battle against greenwashing and it establishes minimal standards for the transmission, verification, and justification of clear environmental claims.

Introduction

90% of Europeans favour stronger regulations for determining environmental impact and associated claims, according to a recent Eurobarometer poll. However, a 2020 study concluded more than half of environmental claims were ambiguous, deceptive, or baseless. Therefore, in order to strengthen the EU's commitment to a greener future, the European Commission issued the Green Claims Directive on March 22, 2023, as an addition to the recently enacted directive on empowering consumers for the green transition.

The plan carries out the commitment made in the European Green Deal to address fraudulent environmental claims inside the EU. The objective is to hasten the EU's transition to a clean, circular economy. The overarching goal of the EU becoming climate neutral by 2050 is furthered by this legislation.

Ensuring Trustworthy Environmental Claims

The directive establishes minimal standards for the transmission, verification, and justification of clear environmental claims. It focuses on statements made voluntarily by businesses to promote their environmental performance, attributes, or impacts; it covers both current and upcoming environmental labelling programs.

Clear and Fact-Based Statements

According to the guideline, businesses must support their claims and labelling with the most recent scientific data and precise standards. Claims and labels related to the environment should be unambiguous, simple to comprehend, and make explicit reference to the aspects of the environment they address, such as longevity, recyclable materials, and biodiversity.

Verification and Streamlined Processes

The ex-ante verification of clear environmental claims and labelling by impartial third-party experts prior to publication is a crucial component of the directive. The regulation also establishes a streamlined process that, provided corporations finish a technical document demonstrating compliance with the new criteria before to making the claim public, allows some claims to avoid third-party verification.

Microenterprises will be granted an extra 14 months to adhere to these regulations. A number of assistance measures, including guidelines, tools, funding, and training to lessen administrative costs, especially for farmers, are included in the directive to help SMEs.

Claims Related to Climate

Carbon credit claims and other claims relating to climate change are subject to new regulations. Businesses are required to give comprehensive details on the kind, amount, and duration of carbon credits. The directive makes a distinction between offset claims (carbon credits that balance off emissions) and contribution claims (carbon credits that support climate action). Businesses claiming offsets are required to demonstrate a net-zero objective, demonstrate the decarbonization process, and state the proportion of total greenhouse gas emissions offset.

Through the provision of trustworthy, comparable, and verified environmental claims, this initiative seeks to empower customers to make better educated and genuinely environmentally friendly purchase decisions.

The Digital Product Passport (DPP)

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)