Today, the European Parliament stood its ground against deceiving green marketing by voting on the EU Green Claims Directive.

Members of the Parliament agreed on stricter rules to back green claims and labels, and better governance processes for sustainability labels. The new law will also require companies and traders to submit all necessary documentation for a claim to be approved by independent verifiers – thus clamping down on the use of alleged trade secrets as an excuse not to disclose all necessary information for substantiation to the verifier. 

In addition, the Parliament agreed on introducing a Green Claims Consultation Forum which will give more voice to civil society and other stakeholders to influence future legislation resulting from the Green Claims Directive. 

However, the EEB is concerned by the inclusion of a simplified verification procedure, introducing the possibility to grant a ‘presumption of conformity’ for certain claims in the future. 

Miriam Thiemann, Policy Officer for Sustainable Consumption at the EEB, said: “Today, the European Parliament said no to greenwashing claims and labels. People want more sustainable products, and this law will help everyone identify them. The EU must now ensure reliable verification in all cases.” 

The law is also undergoing negotiations among Member States representatives within the Council of the EU.