Green Deal & Green Claims
Legally compliant sustainability, environmental and climate claims
Sustainability, environmental protection and climate action are important purchasing criteria for many consumers. Companies communicate their environmental performance on packaging, websites, in campaigns, product names, logos and sustainability labels.
At the same time, the legal requirements for environmental and sustainability claims are becoming stricter. Green claims must already be truthful, clear, comprehensible and supported by reliable evidence. From 27 September 2026, additional and significantly more specific rules under the German Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG) will apply.
We help companies make their environmental communications legally compliant, identify risks at an early stage and develop permissible, credible claims.
Green Claims quick check
Our free Green Claims quick check uses eight risk questions to help you identify whether your trademarks and advertising claims may be affected by the new requirements and where a more detailed legal review may be advisable.
The European Green Deal
Through the European Green Deal, the European Union aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels and to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050. The measures cover areas including energy, transport, industry, the circular economy, agriculture and consumer protection.
For corporate communications, the stricter rules against greenwashing are particularly relevant. Consumers should be able to understand environmental benefits and make informed purchasing decisions. Companies therefore need to assess carefully which environmental messages they use, what those messages relate to and how they can be substantiated.
The EmpCo Directive and the amended German UWG
Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition, known as the EmpCo Directive, has been implemented in Germany by the Third Act Amending the German Act Against Unfair Competition. The new rules will apply from 27 September 2026.
They apply to business-to-consumer commercial practices. Depending on their presentation, the rules may cover not only conventional advertising copy but also images, symbols, colours, logos, brand names, company names, product names and sustainability labels.
Claims requiring particular scrutiny include
- generic environmental claims such as “environmentally friendly”, “green”, “ecological” or “sustainable”;
- claims relating to an entire product or business where the environmental benefit concerns only one aspect or activity;
- product-related climate or carbon-neutrality claims based on greenhouse gas offsetting;
- sustainability labels that are neither established by a public authority nor based on a compliant certification scheme;
- future-facing claims such as “climate-neutral by 2030” where no detailed, realistic and independently verified implementation plan exists;
- unsubstantiated or misleading comparisons, reduction claims and environmental benefits.
The proposed Green Claims Directive
In 2023, the European Commission also proposed a Green Claims Directive. The proposal contains further requirements for the substantiation, communication and independent verification of explicit environmental claims and environmental labelling schemes.
The proposal has not been adopted. Trilogue negotiations were interrupted in 2025, and the European Parliament currently classifies the procedure as blocked. The proposed additional requirements are therefore not yet binding law. Companies should nevertheless monitor further developments.
To the point
This page provides general information and does not replace legal advice on a specific case.
OUR SERVICES
- Review of environmental and sustainability claims on packaging, websites, online shops, social media and advertising campaigns
- Legal assessment of climate and carbon claims, reduction claims and future environmental targets
- Review of sustainability labels, logos, product names, trademarks and other environmental designations
- Advice on the necessary qualification of claims and supporting evidence
- Development of internal approval processes and guidelines for marketing, sustainability and legal teams
- Training for marketing, sales and sustainability teams
- Enforcement of claims against misleading environmental advertising by competitors
- Defence against cease-and-desist letters, injunction claims and litigation
FAQs
Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition through better protection against unfair practices and through better information is commonly referred to as the EmpCo Directive. It supplements EU consumer and unfair competition law with new rules on environmental claims, sustainability labels, climate claims, future targets and information on durability and repairability.
Germany has implemented the EmpCo Directive through the Third Act Amending the German Act Against Unfair Competition. The relevant new provisions will apply from 27 September 2026. Companies should review existing packaging, websites, product names, advertising materials and approval processes in good time.
Even before 27 September 2026, environmental and sustainability claims must not be false, ambiguous or misleading. They must be accurate and supported by reliable evidence. As a general rule, the broader and stronger the claimed environmental benefit, the greater the need for transparency and substantiation.
An environmental claim is a voluntary message or representation made in commercial communication that expressly or implicitly states that a product, product category, brand or trader has a positive or no impact on the environment, is less damaging to the environment or has improved its environmental impact. Claims may take the form of text, images, graphic elements, symbols, labels, brand names, company names or product names.
A generic environmental claim communicates an environmental benefit without clearly and prominently specifying that benefit on the same medium. Depending on the context, examples include “environmentally friendly”, “green”, “ecological”, “climate-friendly” or “sustainable”. From 27 September 2026, such claims will be permissible only in limited circumstances.
The precise environmental benefit should be explained clearly, intelligibly and prominently next to the claim. Instead of “environmentally friendly packaging”, a company may use a verifiable statement that clearly identifies the relevant feature, the comparison baseline and, where relevant, the part of the life cycle concerned.
Recognised excellent environmental performance exists only in the cases defined by law. It may include performance compliant with the EU Ecolabel, officially recognised EN ISO 14024 Type I environmental labelling schemes or top environmental performance under other applicable EU legislation. A company’s own internal assessment is not sufficient.
A sustainability label is a voluntary public or private trust mark, quality mark or equivalent sign that highlights environmental or social characteristics of a product, process or business. From 27 September 2026, such a label may generally be used only if it is established by a public authority or based on a certification scheme with transparent criteria and independent third-party monitoring.
A self-designed label without an independent and legally compliant certification scheme will be particularly problematic and generally prohibited. Private labels remain possible where the underlying certification scheme meets the statutory requirements. The overall impression of the sign, not merely its name, is decisive.
From 27 September 2026, product-related claims stating that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions as a result of offsetting will be prohibited in all circumstances. Genuine emission reductions within the value chain may still be communicated, but they must be accurate, specific and substantiated. Statements about supporting external climate projects must also be clearly distinguished from claims that the product itself is climate-neutral.
Claims such as “climate-neutral by 2030” or “net zero by 2040” are permissible only if they are supported by clear, objective, publicly available and verifiable commitments. A detailed and realistic implementation plan with measurable and time-bound targets is required. The plan must be regularly verified by an independent third-party expert, and the findings must be made available to consumers.
The Green Claims Directive is a European Commission proposal published in 2023 that has not yet been adopted. It aims to further harmonise explicit environmental claims and environmental labelling schemes and includes detailed requirements for scientific substantiation, communication and independent ex-ante verification. As of June 2026, the legislative procedure is blocked and the proposal has no direct legal effect.
Greenwashing is communication that attributes a greater or broader environmental benefit to a product, service or business than actually exists or can be substantiated. It may arise expressly through wording or implicitly through images, colours, symbols, product names and the overall presentation.
Greenlighting refers to highlighting selected positive environmental features while material negative impacts are pushed into the background. The legal question is whether the overall presentation creates a distorted or misleading impression.
Greenlabelling refers to the use of green designs, images of nature, symbols, labels or wording that suggest particular environmental compatibility. Such presentation can amount to a legally relevant environmental claim even without an express statement.
Greenrinsing describes the practice of weakening, postponing or abandoning environmental or climate targets that have previously been communicated publicly. Earlier advertising may become misleading if it is not updated or corrected.
Green claims are express or implied statements about the environmental characteristics or environmental impact of products, services, brands or businesses. They include claims about climate impact, recyclability, resource conservation, biodegradability, energy efficiency or sustainable production.
“Climate-neutral” does not necessarily mean “emissions-free”. The term may refer to actual avoidance and reduction of emissions, offsetting, or a combination of both. It therefore requires careful explanation. From 27 September 2026, an express prohibition will apply to product-related neutrality claims based on offsetting.
For agricultural products, food and feed, Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production and labelling must be considered in particular. Outside its scope, permissibility depends on the relevant product context, sector-specific legislation and the prohibition of misleading practices. The terms must not imply an unsubstantiated environmental benefit.
Regulation (EU) 2018/848 lays down rules on organic production, certification and labelling of agricultural products and products derived from them. Among other matters, it specifies when protected organic terms and the EU organic logo may be used.
Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 establishes the EU framework for energy labelling of energy-related products. Supplementary product-specific EU legislation and, in Germany, the Energy Consumption Labelling Ordinance regulate which information and energy labels must be displayed in retail and advertising.