Companies that promote products or services through environmental messaging will need to pay closer attention to their wording, evidence and labelling. Directive (EU) 2024\/825, known as the Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition, amends European rules on consumer protection and unfair commercial practices.<\/p>\n
The new rules apply from 27 September 2026<\/strong>, following their transposition into national law. They are relevant to companies that sell to consumers in the European Union, including firms from outside the EU that market their products on the European market.<\/p>\n The Directive does not prohibit communication on sustainability. Environmental claims must be more precise, supported by evidence and presented in such a way that consumers understand exactly what is being referred to.<\/p>\n Directive (EU) 2024\/825 was transposed by Government Emergency Ordinance No. 18\/2026, which amends Law No. 363\/2007 on unfair commercial practices and Government Emergency Ordinance No. 34\/2014 on consumer rights. The new rules also cover misleading environmental claims, non-transparent sustainability labels and practices associated with the premature wear and tear of goods.<\/p>\n The European Commission has introduced these rules to curb greenwashing practices and to provide consumers with clearer information about the products they buy.<\/p>\n There are claims such as \u201egreen\u201d, \u201eeco\u201d, \u201eenvironmentally friendly\u201d, \u201esustainable\u201d or \u201eclimate-neutral\u201d that are backed up by data, whilst others are general in nature or based on information that is difficult to verify. At the same time, many products use voluntary logos and labels that may give the impression of independent certification, even though they are not backed by a robust scheme. The directive also addresses the issue of premature wear and tear. Consumers must be provided with better information on the durability and reparability of products, and companies cannot conceal factors that limit the normal lifespan of a product.<\/p>\n The Directive introduces a broad definition of an environmental claim. This may be any message or representation, not required by law, used in commercial communications and suggesting that a product, a category of products, a brand or a trader has a positive, neutral or reduced impact on the environment.<\/p>\n A claim may be written, verbal, visual, graphic or symbolic. It may appear on packaging, in an advert, on a website, in an online shop, in a trade name or in sales material.<\/p>\n The Directive introduces strict rules for generic environmental claims. These are statements that convey a general idea of environmental performance but do not specify exactly which characteristic is being referred to.<\/p>\n Common examples include \u201eeco\u201d, \u201egreen\u201d, \u201eenvironmentally friendly\u201d, \u201eclimate-friendly\u201d, \u201esustainable\u201d, \u201ebiodegradable\u201d or other similar terms, when they are not immediately and clearly explained.<\/p>\n These claims will be prohibited if the company cannot demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim in question. In practice, a general message must either be backed up by a recognised level of performance or replaced with a specific claim.<\/p>\n One of the most significant changes concerns climate claims based on carbon offsetting. The Directive prohibits claims that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive environmental impact where such a claim is based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions. This category includes statements such as climate-neutral<\/em>, carbon-neutral or climate-positive<\/em>, if carbon neutrality is achieved through the purchase of carbon credits, rather than through the product\u2019s actual performance.<\/p>\n Companies can continue to fund climate projects or purchase carbon credits, but they must be careful about how they communicate this. Supporting emissions-reduction projects does not allow a product to be marketed to consumers as having zero climate impact.<\/p>\n The Directive also examines claims regarding future performance. If a company states that it will become climate-neutral, that it will reduce emissions or that it will achieve an environmental target within a specific timeframe, that statement must be backed up by clear, objective, publicly available and verifiable commitments.<\/p>\n A general target for 2030 or 2050 is not enough. The company must have a realistic implementation plan, interim targets, resources and a monitoring system. Progress must be verified periodically by an independent third party. This rule is particularly important for companies that use climate targets in their marketing. Information published in a report can become more legally sensitive when it is turned into a commercial message.<\/p>\n The Directive also defines and sustainability label<\/em>. This refers to any voluntary label, whether public or private, which promotes a product, a process or a company by referring to environmental or social characteristics, or both. Once the new rules come into force, such labels may only be used if they are established by a public authority or are based on a certification scheme.<\/p>\n A certification scheme must have publicly available criteria, be open under transparent, fair and non-discriminatory conditions, include procedures for dealing with non-compliance, and provide for verification by a competent and independent third party.<\/p>\n The Directive also introduces rules regarding information on the sustainability, reparability and updates of products. It will target practices that mislead consumers regarding a product\u2019s lifespan, reparability, the availability of spare parts, software updates or the need to replace consumables.<\/p>\n Product claims designed to last<\/em>, easy to repair<\/em> or with extended service life<\/em> must be backed up by factual information. Similarly, communication regarding commercial guarantees must be clear and must not cause confusion with the statutory guarantee.<\/p>\n The first step is to compile a list of the environmental claims used in communications with consumers. Packaging, product pages, online campaigns, retail materials, catalogues, marketplaces, labels, trade names and social media communications must all be analysed.<\/p>\n The second step is to remove or rephrase general statements. Terms such as green, eco-friendly, sustainable<\/em> or environmentally friendly<\/em> should only be used if the statement is clarified and substantiated. In many cases, a specific statement relating to a measurable characteristic will be more reliable.<\/p>\n The third step is to verify the evidence. The data must be relevant to the product or service being promoted, up to date and sufficiently robust. A claim about the product should not be supported by general information about the company, and a claim about the product as a whole should not be based on a minor improvement to the packaging.<\/p>\n The fourth step is to review sustainability labels. The company needs to know who administers the scheme, what the criteria are, how compliance is verified, and whether the right to use the label can be suspended in the event of non-compliance.<\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Companiile care promoveaz\u0103 produse sau servicii prin mesaje de mediu vor trebui s\u0103 fie mai atente la formul\u0103ri, dovezi \u0219i etichete. Directiva (UE) 2024\/825, cunoscut\u0103 ca directiva privind responsabilizarea consumatorilor pentru tranzi\u021bia verde, modific\u0103 regulile europene privind protec\u021bia consumatorilor \u0219i practicile comerciale neloiale. Noile reguli se aplic\u0103 din 27 septembrie 2026, dup\u0103 transpunerea \u00een legisla\u021biile […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noutati","category-legislatie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10827"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10828,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10827\/revisions\/10828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Transposition of the Directive into Romanian law<\/h2>\n
The adoption of the directive<\/h2>\n
What is an environmental claim?<\/h2>\n
General statements become difficult to use<\/h2>\n
Carbon offsets<\/h2>\n
Promises for the future<\/h2>\n
Sustainability labels<\/h2>\n
Durability and reparability are becoming part of consumer protection<\/h2>\n
Action plan for businesses<\/h2>\n