The European Council has adopted its general approach on the Green Claims Directive. This approach will form the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament on the final shape of a directive that should protect consumers from greenwashing. What does this mean?

Visit any exhibition and you will see exhibitors going to great lengths to convince visitors that it should be their product or service the visitor should select. Some of their ways to convince the audience are blunt and easy to confirm or refute, others are more subtle or more difficult to validate. In particular, claims made regarding environmental friendliness are becoming a cause of concern as these are often difficult for consumers to verify, something that opens up the possibility of exaggeration or even of making false statements. The practice of false, misleading, or exaggerated claims about the environmental benefits, sustainability, or eco-friendliness of a product, service, or company is called “greenwashing”. In the absence of specific rules on claims regarding the “green” nature of products, the European Commission has put forward a proposal for a directive on green claims. The proposed directive would require companies to substantiate the voluntary green claims they make in business-to-consumer commercial practices by complying with a number of requirements regarding their assessment.