Has the era of greenwashing finally come to an end?
The EU will set strict rules on the communication of general and sustainability related claims made by companies. This topic will be discussed in this newsletter.
Communicating about sustainability
The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles includes a vision to tackle the problem of greenwashing and false environmental claims. This will be done through the directives called Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECGT) and Substantiating Green Claims Directive. The first mentioned applies to all voluntary generic claims both on product and company level while the second applies to all voluntary specific environmental claims.
The purpose is to enhance the transparency and credibility of product labelling by prohibiting the use of generic environmental terms such as "environmentally friendly," "natural," "biodegradable," "climate neutral," or "eco" without substantiating evidence. Terms such as “conscious” and “responsible” will be banned under all circumstances. Today, 75% of all products in the EU claim to be green in some way, but more than half of these claims are unclear, misleading, or not true. Also, almost half of the 230 ecolabels in the EU don't have strong verification processes or don't have any at all. Going forward, only sustainability labels validated by official certification programs or established by public authorities will be permitted within the European Union.
This means that consumers are protected and ensured their rights during purchases and all cases of greenwashing are meant to be eliminated. Consumers must be informed about which products are more durable and which products are repairable. This goes hand in hand with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation (ESPR), which means that products must be designed to last.
Photo: Pexels.
How about climate compensation and comparative claims?
Members of the European Parliament have now banned claims that are based on emission offsetting schemes. Claims that state a product or service is “climate neutral” or “climate net zero” can not be used if the CO2 footprint has been calculated based on carbon offsetting schemes. Companies may still continue to work with a partner for offsetting, but it will not be allowed to compensate for your products’ emission based on this method. The reason for banning these kinds of claims are due to the fact that such schemes lack a regulatory background.
Comparative claims will only be allowed if the products are within the same product category and the same method to calculate the environmental performance has been used. All claims must also be clear if they apply to the entire product, parts of the product, its supply chain or even packaging. Future environmental claims must also be substantiated. If companies make statements with specific targets to reduce CO2 emissions, then the transition plan to show more transparency along with an implementation plan verified by an independent third-party must be publicly available.
Photo: Unsplash.
The verification process
All specific sustainability related claims made must be backed with scientific evidence, specific to the product, and verified by authorised national verifiers. The process is done in four steps:
You need to substantiate your claim
The claim must be verified by approved verifiers
Once approved, you will receive a “certificate of conformity”
You are now allowed to communicate your claim in a clear way
Hence, the EU Commission will eliminate private certificates related to sustainability that companies have created themselves as these are not verified by an appointed verifier.
Conclusion
The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECGT) has officially been approved and Member States will now have two years to adopt and implement the directive. The Substantiating Green Claims Directive is expected to be approved later during 2024.
Bergstrand Consultancy can help your company ensure your communication is compliant with the directives. Our team can help with the communication as well as with substantiation of the claims.
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EU Legislations: Part 3. What is Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive?
Regenerative agriculture: What is regenerative farming and why is it important for fashion?
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Textile Recycling in Europe: Can large-scale textile recycling reduce climate impact?
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ILO calls for improved worker safety: A new report by The International Labor Organisation (ILO) encourages collective action for better work environments.
Stricter wastewater management: A new EU agreement mandates that the cosmetics industry bears a minimum of 80 percent of expenses related to treating harmful substances in urban wastewater.
Reusable coffee cups?: Danish city first to test return system for reusable coffee cups in a three-year trial program.