Will we see common EU criteria for combating greenwashing?
The European Commission has just proposed common criteria to combat pseudo-green marketing and misleading green claims.
The aim of this proposal is to create a clearer situation for consumers, who should be sure that products marketed as green really are, and to improve the quality of information to make it easier to choose environmentally friendly products. Companies will also benefit. Companies that genuinely strive to make their products more sustainable will be more recognizable, which will translate into consumer recognition and increased sales. They will also not have to worry about unfair competition. The proposal will thus contribute to creating a level playing field as regards information on the environmental performance of products.
The Commission’s 2020 study highlights that 53.3% of EU environmental claims examined were found to be unclear, misleading or insufficiently substantiated, and 40% – for unfounded. The lack of common rules regulating the use of voluntary green claims by companies leads to pseudo-green marketing and creates an uneven playing field in the EU market, to the detriment of genuinely green companies.
Under the Commission’s proposal, companies that choose to make an „environmental claim” for their products or services will have to comply with minimum standards on how to substantiate the claim and how to communicate it.
The proposal addresses explicit claims such as: „T-shirt made of recycled PET bottles”, „offset shipping emissions”, „30% recycled packaging”. recycled plastic” or „ocean-friendly sunscreen”. The new rules are also intended to reduce the number of eco-label schemes and regulate the creation of new public and private label schemes. The regulations cover all voluntary claims regarding the environmental impact, environmental aspects and eco-performance of products, services and the companies themselves. However, they do not cover claims that are covered by existing EU legislation, e.g. on the EU Ecolabel or organic food logo, because the applicable law already ensures the credibility of these legally regulated claims. For the same reason, claims that will be covered by specific EU legislation in the near future are not included.
Before a company can make an environmental claim covered by the new rules, it will be mandatory to independently verify the claim and provide scientific evidence to support it. As part of this scientific analysis, companies will need to identify the environmental impacts that are actually relevant to the product and any possible interrelationships to provide a complete and accurate picture of the situation.
A number of provisions will ensure that claims are communicated in a clear manner. For example, claims or labels that use the aggregated results of an environmental impact assessment will be banned unless covered by EU legislation. If products or organizations are compared with others, such comparisons should be based on equivalent information and data.
The proposal will also regulate the issue of eco-labelling. There are currently at least 230 different types of labeling and there are many indications that this causes consumer confusion and mistrust. To control the proliferation of such labels, it will not be possible to introduce new public labeling schemes unless they are developed at EU level. On the other hand, before a new private system can be introduced, it will be necessary to prove that it is more advanced in terms of environmental protection than existing systems and to obtain the appropriate authorization. Specific rules have been developed for the eco-label in general: it must also be credible, transparent, verified by independent parties and subject to regular review.
In line with the ordinary legislative procedure, the proposal for a Directive on environmental claims will now require approval by the European Parliament and the Council.
This proposal complements the March 2022 proposal to empower consumers in the green transition by establishing more specific rules on environmental claims in addition to a general ban on misleading advertising. The legislation is also presented alongside the proposal for common rules to promote the repair of goods, which will contribute to sustainable consumption and strengthen the circular economy.
Today’s proposal contributes to an important commitment by the Commission under the European Green Deal. It is part of the third circular economy package, together with the proposal for common rules to promote the repair of goods. The first and second Circular Economy Packages were adopted in March and November 2022. The first package included the new proposed Ecodesign Regulation for Sustainable Products, the EU Strategy for Sustainable Circular Textiles and the proposed Consumer Empowerment Directive consumers in the process of ecological transformation. The second package consisted of proposals for a regulation on packaging and packaging waste,
Source: EC
Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.
