Environment and sustainability and Risk & Compliance / /
Final approval for the European directive on greenwashing, requiring greater information to consumers
The European Council has approved the directive on greenwashing, which will ban commercial practices such as greenwashing and early obsolescence, together with increasing the information that will have to be given to consumers. The new law has yet to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Final approval was obtained for the new directive on greenwashing after the European Council gave the green light to the text proposed by the European Parliament on February 20.
The new law amends Directive 2005/29/EC (on unfair commercial practices) and Directive 2011/83/EU (on consumer rights) to increase consumer protection against unfair commercial practices and enhance information on the environmental and social characteristics of products and services.
To achieve this aim, new rules are introduced to combat greenwashing, in the form of misleading or unverified claims on the environmental or social impact of products or services. Among other measures, it adds commercial practices to the list of those already considered unfair in any circumstance. Examples include a ban on generic environmental claims not supported by excellent recognized environmental performance, claims about the entire product or the trader’s entire business when it concerns only a certain aspect of the product or of the trader’s business, or displaying a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme or not established by public authorities.