On 17th January, the European Parliament voted in favour of a new Green Claims Directive that will outlaw generic environmental claims and other misleading product information. Only sustainability labels based on approved certification schemes or established by public authorities will be allowed.
The new rules also aim to tackle early obsolescence by banning practices including unfounded durability claims; presenting software updates as necessary when they only enhance functionality; presenting goods as repairable when they are not; and inducing consumers to replace consumables earlier than necessary for technical reasons.
The aim of the legislation is to make product labelling clearer and more trustworthy by banning the use of unsubstantiated generic claims such as ‘environmentally friendly, ‘natural’, ‘biodegradable’, ‘recycled’ and ‘climate neutral’. The legislation will also ban claims that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment where this is based on emissions offsetting. This is due to widespread concern about the credibility of some carbon offsetting schemes. Additionally, the Directive will put an end to claims that conflate progress made on one topic or about one product with the company’s overall environmental footprint.
The Directive is expected to enter into force later in 2024 after final approval from the Council. Member States will then have two years to transpose the directive into their own national laws. The new directive forms part of a larger package of measures, which includes the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and the Right to Repair Directive.
In the UK, voluntary codes of conduct cover similar areas. The Competition and Marketing Authority can use the Green Claims Code to enforce existing consumer protection laws, and the Advertising Standards Agency can take action under its Committee on Advertising Code – as was seen last year in relation to green claims made by Etihad, Shell and Anglian Water. However, as many UK-based businesses sell into EU markets, the directive will likely have a ripple effect on the product messaging seen in the UK.
Photo by … on Unsplash