The european commission green claims directive

Among the many new initiatives being prepared by legislative bodies across the globe, the European Commission’s far-reaching Green Deal initiative has recently seen the tabling of their Green Claims Directive. It calls for greater regulation of all environmental claims, through certification by an accredited body. This represents a major shift and moves the topic of ‘sustainability” from, what has often been little more than a marketing slogan to an essential brand commitment and purpose.

This bluesign^® ACADEMY White Paper provides an overview of the Directive. If you would like to speak to us about forthcoming regulatory change please contact us at bluesign@academy.com

OVERVIEW

The European Green Deal tackles false environmental claims by ensuring that buyers receive reliable, comparable, and verifiable information to make more sustainable decisions and to reduce ‘green washing’.
European Commission (EC) wants environmental claims based on environmental impacts along products’ life cycles to be substantiated.
EC will regulate use of environmental claims by establishing solid and harmonized calculation methods covering the full value chain.

CLAIMS

MISLEADING CLAIMS: THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM

In spite of consumers’ willingness to contribute to a greener and more circular economy this is hampered by a lack of trust in the credibility of environmental claims and the proliferation of misleading commercial practices related to the environmental sustainability of products.
Greenwashing and lack of transparency and credibility of environmental labels occur at various stages of the consumption journey.
The European Commission’s 2020 study found that of environmental claims 53.3% provide vague, misleading, or unfounded information about products’ environmental characteristics across the EU and across a wide range of product categories.
40% of environmental claims were unsubstantiated by verifiable evidence.
Of 344 sustainability claims assessed by EU Member State Consumer Protection authorities, in 57.5% instances the claim’s accuracy could not be judged.
In 50% of cases Member State Authorities had difficulties identifying whether claims covered the whole product or only one of its components
In 36% of cases, whether it referred to the company or only certain products
In 75% of cases which stage of the products lifecycle it covered
Most stakeholders consulted agreed that greenwashing is a problem, with the noticeable exception of industry representatives

FRAMEWORK FOR FUTURE CLAIMS

The proposal requires that in future explicit environmental claims shall be based on an assessment that at minimum is defined by criteria that are not misleading, and that the claim:

relies on recognized scientific evidence and state of the art technical knowledge;
demonstrates the significance of impacts, aspects, and performance from a life-cycle perspective;
accounts for all significant aspects and impacts to assess the performance
demonstrates whether the claim is accurate for the whole product or only for parts of it
demonstrates that the claim is not equivalent to requirements imposed by law;

provides information on whether the product performs environmentally significantly better than what is common practice;

identifies whether a positive achievement leads to significant worsening of another impact;
requires greenhouse gas offsets to be reported in a transparent manner;
includes accurate primary or secondary information.

LABELLING

ENVIRONMENTAL LABELLING: THE ISSUES

(Environmental labels: i.e., those covering predominantly environmental aspects of a product or trader)

An assessment of 232 active ecolabels in the EU also examined their verification and certification aspects and concluded that almost half of the labels’ verification was either weak or not carried out.

Over a quarter (27%) of participants said “the proliferation and/or lack of transparency/understanding/reliability of sustainability logos/labels on products and services” was an obstacle to empowering consumers.

34% of businesses identified the “the proliferation and/or lack of transparency/understanding/reliability of sustainability logos/labels” as an obstacle.

Companies that make the effort to adhere to or develop reliable environmental labelling schemes are disadvantaged compared to companies that use unreliable environmental labels as consumers often cannot tell the difference.

Companies that offer truly sustainable products are disadvantaged compared to those that do not.

FRAMEWORK FOR FUTURE LABELLING

The mechanism that will be used to ensure that in future, environmental labelling is neither vague, misleading, nor unfounded, will be through an amendment to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. It will:

List product characteristics about which a trader should not deceive a consumer including ‘environmental or social impact, ‘durability’ and ‘reparability’.
Actions considered misleading if they cause or are likely to cause the average consumer to make a transactional decision they would not have otherwise taken.
Displaying a sustainability label which is not based on a certification scheme or not established by public authorities.
Making a generic environmental claim for which the trader cannot demonstrate recognized excellent environmental performance.
Making an environmental claim about the entire product when it concerns only a certain aspect of the product.
Presenting requirements imposed by law on all products as a distinctive feature of the trader’s offer.
Penalties for infringements including fines, confiscation of revenues, and temporary exclusion from public procurement or funding.

VERIFICATION

ENSURING IMPARTIAL VERIFICATION OF FUTURE CLAIMS

An entity verifying environmental claims:

Shall be a third-party conformity assessment body formally accredited by a nationally recognized certifying entity.
Accreditation shall be based upon an evaluation in compliance with requirements.
The verifier shall be independent of the product or trader associated with the claim;
The verifier and its personnel shall not engage in activities that may conflict with independence or integrity;
The verifier shall carry out verification with professional integrity and competence;
The verifier shall have the required expertise, equipment, and infrastructure;
Sufficient qualified personnel shall perform verification tasks;
Personnel shall observe professional secrecy;
If subcontracting, the verifier is responsible for work and qualifications of subcontractors.

TIMING

As a first step, the Directive is to be put before the European Parliament. No date has been set for this.

Once signed, the Directive:

Is published in the Official Journal of the European Union and comes into force on the 20th day following publication.
If signed in early 2024, it is transposed into law of Member States over a two-year period from 2024 onwards.
Full-scale operation across the EU is scheduled thereafter.

The Directive will be in force for an unlimited duration.