EC withdraws Green Claims Directive that was supposed to regulate green claims
On 20 June, the European Commission announced the withdrawal of the draft Green Claims Directive, which was supposed to precisely define the rules for filing so-called green claims. The main reason for the abandonment of work on the draft was the introduction of changes to its content which, in the EC's view, would have been an excessive burden on micro-entrepreneurs.
Green Claims Directive withdrawn, but with chance of return
Reports of the planned withdrawal of the draft directive began to appear in the media in the second half of June 2025. On Friday 20 June This information was officially confirmed by a Commission spokespersonMaciej Berestecki. The Commission's decision caused quite a stir among officials, but also among consumer and environmental organisations, which were surprised by such a sudden turn of events. All the more so as it was taken almost on the eve of the start of tripartite negotiations between the European Parliament, the EU Council and the Commission, aimed at reaching a common position on the legislative proposal.
Despite a clear statement from the EC, there are still chances to return to negotiations on the final content of the directive. The European Parliament and the current Presidency of the Council of the EU declare their readiness to resume the trialogue. One possible future scenario involves modifying the draft to be in line with the legislative vision and the Commission's mission.
No to an excessive burden of obligations on micro-entrepreneurs
As originally envisaged, The directive was intended to cover all businesses offering their products on the EU market. However, for micro-enterprises with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover of less than EUR 2 million, it provided for far-reaching simplifications in the substantiation of environmental claims. The purpose of applying these simplifications was to maintain the current level of competitiveness of the smallest companies against the global giants.
As the Commission emphasised, Avoiding excessive burdens (including financial burdens) for micro-entrepreneurs was one of the key objectives of the project Green Claims Directive. So significant, in fact, that departure from this premise prompted the EC to withdraw the draft in its entirety. In fact, during the legislative work in the European Parliament, provisions were introduced into the content of the directive extending the obligation of each independent verification of submitted environmental claims also to entities from the micro-enterprise sector. According to the EC, these changes were contrary to the Commission's policy of simplifying legislation and reducing the administrative burden for the smallest entities.
What was the Green Claims Directive supposed to be about?
The purpose of the Green Claims Directive was to setting the conditions for making environmental statements and to clarify the methods to be used by producers when substantiating their claims. It was also clear from the wording of the draft directive obligation for green claims to be subject to verification by an independent third party. However, the preamble of the draft mentions the need to exempt micro-entrepreneurs from strict requirements for substantiation and verification of environmental claims, which, according to the Commission, could generate a disproportionate administrative burden. It was this exemption, or rather the removal of this exemption, that became the bone of contention and the reason for the EC's withdrawal from further work on the draft directive.
It will be recalled that the original draft directive was presented by the EC in March 2023. The draft's explanatory memorandum cited a study finding that 53.3% of environmental statements "contains unclear, misleading or unfounded information on the environmental performance of products across the EU and across a range of product categories". Moreover, as many as 40% of such statements were unsubstantiated. As part of the verification of the conclusions of the cited study, the EU carried out a follow-up action, the results of which largely coincided with the findings of the study:
For more than half (57.5 %) of the 344 sustainability claims that were assessed, the authorities found that the trader did not provide sufficient elements to assess the veracity of the claim. In many cases, the authorities found it difficult to determine whether the claim related to the whole product or only one of its elements (50 %), whether it related to the company or only to some of the products (36 %) and which stage of the product life cycle it related to (75 %).
The Commission also indicated that the need to regulate pseudo green marketing was part of the overall actions envisaged in the New EU Action Plan and the Green Deal. The resulting changes from the Green Claims Directive were to promote more sustainable consumption contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 12.6, which aims to encourage companies, particularly large and multinational companies, to implement sustainability practices and include information on this in their cyclical reports.
Is the withdrawal of the Green Claims Directive a green light for false green claims?
Abandonment of further legislative work on the Green Claims Directive does not mean that consumers will be completely deprived of protection against greenwashing. This will be provided by the ECGT Directive (or 'EmpCo' in English. Empowering Consumers for the Green transition) (Directive (EU) 2024/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 February 2024 amending Directives 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU as regards the empowerment of consumers in the ecological transition through better protection against unfair practices and better information and transparency), which is awaiting implementation in the legislation of EU Member States. The directive expands the scope of prohibited market practices to include greenwashing and prohibits the display of claims about the environmental performance of products that are not based on clear evidence or certification schemes.
Read more about the obligations imposed by the ECGT Directive and the potential impact of its implementation in the article: EU directives fight greenwashing. Is this the end of environmentalism?
Source:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PL/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52023PC0166