Green Claims is the EU's fight against greenwashing, and a directive that aims to ensure that companies do not unjustifiably adorn themselves with green feathers.
For all companies with a genuine interest in green transition and transparent communication about sustainability, the EU’s proposed Green Claims Directive is good news.
It sets out minimum criteria for both documentation and communication of specific environmental claims – also called ‘green claims’ – that companies will use in their marketing.
Although the directive is not a game-changer for companies' climate communication in Denmark in all respects, several new breakthroughs are planned. Today, companies are fined if they make misleading and undocumented environmental claims in their marketing, which is why the Consumer Ombudsman has drawn up guidelines for "green" marketing.
Key themes in the directive include:
As a company, you must prepare for the requirements for the prior work of documenting claims to be greatly tightened. Among other things, it is planned that consumers must have easy access - e.g. with a QR code - to the documentation that forms the basis of your green claim. It is also a requirement that it be communicated in an easily understandable language.
According to the proposal, all claims must in future be approved by a verified third party. You cannot make a green claim in your marketing without it having been approved in advance. This must include ensure a level playing field on the EU market, where a so-called certificate of conformity allows you to freely use your environmental marketing across member states.
The forest of hundreds of eco-labels that exist across the EU must be cleared up. The directive proposes that only labels that are demonstrably of higher standards than, for example, the EU Flower should be permitted.
The requirements for compensation schemes and communication of compensations, where companies buy CO2 reductions from, for example, afforestation projects, must be tightened. The aim is to make their reporting more transparent. Compensation schemes often have “low environmental integrity and credibility,” the proposal states.
Micro-enterprises – with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover of no more than 2 million euros – are exempt. If you still want a certificate of conformity that is valid in all EU countries, you must meet the same requirements as everyone else.
De nye regler kommer oven i den dokumentationspraksis, Forbrugerombudsmanden allerede håndhæver:
Vi rådgiver om, hvordan konkrete klima- og miljøpåstande formuleres, så de kan stå distancen dokumentationsmæssigt. Vi kvalitetssikrer eksisterende materiale for udokumenterede eller for brede påstande, og vi hjælper med at vurdere, om en given påstand kræver en fuld livscyklusvurdering, eller om en mere konkret formulering er tilstrækkelig.
Vi kan opkvalificere og træne f.eks. jeres sælgere og indkøbere i grøn omstilling. Vi giver dem et fagligt fundament og fælles referencer, så de kan rådgive kunder og samarbejdspartnere om grøn værdiskabelse.
