The
EU's Greenwashing Directive, along with the new
Green Claims Directive, represents a legislative advance in ensuring that sustainability claims made by businesses are transparent and substantiated by rigorous third-party verification. By setting clear guidelines and standards for environmental claims, the EU is fostering a marketplace where sustainability is a measurable and verifiable practice.
The newly introduced regulations aim to combat greenwashing and enforce transparency in sustainability claims. The Green Claims Directive (GCD) complements the already-approved EU ban on greenwashing. They establish comprehensive criteria for the endorsement of environmental labels, mandate third-party verification of these claims, and outline penalties for non-compliance.
According to new EU regulations, only independent third-party verifiers ensure impartial and competent substantiation of environmental claims. Verifiers must be independent from the product/trader making the claim to ensure there is no conflict of interests, they must have appropriate expertise and issue a certificate of conformity after verification.
Baptiste emphasized the crucial role of Accredited Certification Bodies, that perfectly align with these new directives. "The label itself will be verified by the public authority, but when it comes to giving the label to a given hotel or accommodation, then it will be done by verifiers which are accredited according to a system which is established by the law.<…>Of course, the verifier must be independent from both the trader and the certification scheme, which is not always the case", he stated.
Importantly, all these regulations apply globally: "Even if you are not based in the EU, or the EU market, the moment you address a European consumer, you fall under this legislation," Baptiste clarified. The Consumer Empowerment Directive will be enacted in 2026, with the Green Claims Directive following later. Despite a transition phase, the scale of the change will require years to fully implement.