Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition: new European rules to provide a clearer framework for brands’ environmental promises

Press release – Paris, 21 October 2026

Since 27 September 2026, new European rules have stepped up the fight against greenwashing. Vague environmental promises, self-proclaimed labels, carbon neutrality based on offsetting: brands must now review some of their communication practices. This is a major development that benefits consumers and has a direct impact on businesses, which must be able to substantiate their commitments. In this context, Ecocert is making its expertise in certification and independent verification available to businesses, notably through ClaimCheck, to help them ensure the reliability of their environmental and social claims.

‘Green’, ‘nature-friendly’, ‘eco-friendly’… These terms have become a familiar sight on packaging, online retail sites and in adverts. Yet their meaning can sometimes be difficult for consumers to grasp.

According to a study carried out by the European Commission in 2020, 53 per cent of the environmental claims examined were vague, misleading or unfounded, whilst 40 per cent were not backed up by any evidence.

To better protect consumers, the European ‘Empowering Consumers’ Directive (EU 2024/825) strengthens the regulatory framework governing environmental claims used by businesses. Having entered its European implementation phase on 27 September 2026, it is still awaiting transposition into French law. In practical terms, several practices are now prohibited:

📌 Overly general environmental claims, such as ‘green’ or ‘eco-friendly’, when they are not backed up by recognised, outstanding environmental performance.

📌 Self-proclaimed sustainability labels, which are neither established by a public authority nor backed by a certification scheme that meets the latest requirements.

📌 Claims that products are carbon neutral, where these are based solely on offsetting greenhouse gas emissions.

📌 Misleading commitments, where a brand presents a product or company as generally environmentally friendly when its efforts relate to only one specific aspect.

From food to cosmetics, textiles and services, all sectors are affected.

The aim is clear: to enable consumers to better distinguish between proven environmental commitments and mere marketing claims.

• A new requirement for brands: moving from promise to proof

Under these new rules, companies must pay closer attention to the messages conveyed on their products, packaging, websites and in their advertising campaigns.

Sustainability labels are also affected. To be used, labels that are not established by a public authority must now be based on certification schemes that meet requirements relating, in particular, to transparency, independence and verification.

This development requires brands to review their communication practices, but also presents an opportunity for those that have implemented robust environmental initiatives and wish to promote them more effectively.

“For a long time, brands have been able to communicate about their environmental commitments without always having to prove them. With the Empowering Consumers Directive, we are entering a new era: the era of proof. This is a major step forward for consumers, who must be able to make their choices with complete confidence, but also for genuinely committed businesses, whose efforts will be better recognised. The challenge is not to communicate less about the environment, but to communicate in a more accurate, transparent and credible way”, emphasises Pauline Raffaitin, Head of Public and Regulatory Affairs at Ecocert.

To prepare, Ecocert recommends that companies follow a three-step process: identify their environmental and social claims across all their communications, analyse the available evidence to substantiate them, and then adapt or remove any messages that cannot be sufficiently substantiated.

• ClaimCheck: Ecocert helps businesses ensure their commitments are reliable

With over thirty years’ experience in certification and independent verification, the Ecocert Group is launching ClaimCheck, a service designed to verify environmental and social claims, help businesses adapt their communications to new requirements and strengthen the credibility of their commitments.

It is based on four complementary solutions: consulting, to identify risks and the necessary adjustments; training, to support teams from procurement right through to the marketing and communications departments; labels, meeting the requirements of the Directive; and claims verification, to assess the robustness of the evidence supporting the claims.

With ClaimCheck, Ecocert aims to support businesses in adopting a more rigorous approach to environmental communication, whilst helping to restore consumer confidence in the commitments made by brands.

To find out more about the directive: ClaimCheck