From Packnet we echo this news published by Alimarket on the publication of the European Commission, which provides a number of common criteria against greenwashing, and misleading environmental claims, to be followed by companies.

The European Commission has tabled a new proposal for a Directive, available in English at the end of this article, which sets out common criteria against greenwashing, and misleading environmental claims.

It will provide consumers with greater clarity and a stronger guarantee that when something is sold as green, it really is green, and better information to choose environmentally friendly products and services. As the Commission argues, businesses will also gain, because consumers will be able to recognise and reward those that make a real effort to improve the environmental sustainability of their products and thus stimulate their sales, rather than suffer unfair competition.

In this way, the proposal will help to establish a level playing field as regards information on the environmental performance of products. The Directive, as it stands, is aimed at small, medium or large companies with more than 10 employees or a turnover of at least €2 million. Those that do not meet these thresholds will be exempted from these obligations, although they will be able to join on a voluntary basis.

A 2020 Commission study found that 53.3% of the environmental claims examined in the EU were vague, misleading or unfounded and 40% were completely unsubstantiated. It concluded that the lack of common rules for companies making voluntary environmental claims encourages greenwashing and creates an uneven playing field in the EU market, to the detriment of truly sustainable companies.

Reliable, comparable and verifiable information
Under the proposal, when companies decide to make a “green claim” about their products or services, they will have to respect minimum standards on how to substantiate and communicate such claims. The proposal focuses on express claims, for example “T-shirt made from recycled plastic bottles”, “CO2 offset delivery“, “packaging made from 30% recycled plastic” or “ocean-friendly sunscreen”. It also aims to prevent the proliferation of labels and the emergence of new environmental labels. The Directive will cover all voluntary claims about the environmental impacts, aspects or performance of a product or the trader himself. However, it excludes claims covered by existing EU rules, such as the EU Ecolabel or the organic food logo, as existing legislation already ensures that these regulated claims are reliable.

Before companies communicate any of the covered types of “organic claims” to consumers, such claims must be independently verified and demonstrated with scientific evidence. As part of this scientific analysis, companies will determine the environmental impacts that are actually relevant to their product and define any trade-offs, in order to provide a complete and accurate picture.

Clear and harmonised standards and labels
A number of standards will ensure that claims are clearly communicated. For example