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Greenwashing Under Legal Scrutiny. How Are the Rules for “Green” Communication Changing?

Until recently, discussions around greenwashing focused primarily on brand reputation. Today, that is no longer enough. Environmental claims increasingly need to be treated in the same way as other information about a product’s characteristics: they must be precise, substantiated and consistent with the scope actually supported by the available evidence.

The year 2026 is particularly important in this respect. The PPWR has applied since 12 August 2026, while 27 September 2026 marks the EU deadline for the application of the rules resulting from Directive (EU) 2024/825, known as Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition – or EmpCo for short. The Directive expands the list of practices considered unfair and introduces much more specific rules governing the use of environmental claims and sustainability labels.


27 September 2026 – Much Less Room for General “Eco” Claims

Directive 2024/825 introduces new definitions into EU consumer law and expands the so-called blacklist of commercial practices prohibited in all circumstances.

One of the most important changes concerns generic environmental claims, such as “eco-friendly”, “green”, “environmentally friendly”, “ecological”, “climate-friendly”, “biodegradable” or “bio-based”, where the message is not appropriately qualified. Such a generic claim may only be used where the trader can demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim – for example through the EU Ecolabel, an officially recognised national or regional EN ISO 14024 type I ecolabelling scheme, or the highest level of environmental performance for a specific characteristic under other applicable EU law. Importantly, the underlying basis must correspond to the content of the claim being communicated – simply holding an environmental label does not automatically justify every generic environmental claim.

A separate prohibition applies to climate neutrality claims: stating that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the climate may not be based solely on offsetting greenhouse gas emissions outside the product’s value chain, for example through the purchase of carbon offsets or tree-planting schemes.

The way in which a claim is qualified is also important. Under the Directive and the latest guidance from the European Commission, the qualification should appear next to the claim or form part of it and should be presented clearly and visibly on the same medium. This means that a detailed explanation available only, for example, on a website does not replace the qualification required on the medium carrying the claim itself. Moreover, the Commission indicates that limited space on packaging does not in itself justify omitting such information – if a claim cannot be adequately qualified, it should generally not be used.

The law also looks beyond words alone. The definition of an environmental claim covers textual, graphic and symbolic communication, including labels, trade names, product names and brand names. The Commission also points out that visual elements may be relevant when assessing communication if, together with the wording, they create a particular environmental impression for consumers. Simply removing the word “eco” may therefore not solve the problem if the overall communication still suggests environmental characteristics that the company is unable to substantiate.


A Proprietary “Green Certificate” Is Becoming a Serious Risk

Separate rules apply to sustainability labels – voluntary trust marks, quality marks or equivalent labels that distinguish a product, process or business activity on the basis of its environmental or social characteristics. The new rules prohibit the use of such labels unless they are based on a certification scheme meeting the requirements of the Directive or have been established by a public authority.

This does not, however, mean that every specific environmental claim placed on packaging requires external certification. Such claims are subject to separate rules concerning their truthfulness, precision and ability to be substantiated.

This is particularly important when designing packaging. A symbol resembling an independent quality mark, a proprietary “green badge” or a graphic label created solely for the purposes of a particular brand may be assessed not only in terms of what the company intended to communicate, but also in terms of how such a symbol may be understood by consumers.


Environmental Targets Must Also Be Substantiated

The regulations also cover forward-looking claims.

Claims concerning future environmental performance – for example, commitments to reduce a specific environmental impact over the coming years – must be based on clear, objective, publicly available and verifiable commitments set out in a detailed and realistic implementation plan. The plan should include measurable targets, timelines and the resources required to achieve them, while progress towards the commitments must be regularly verified by an independent third-party expert whose findings are made available to consumers.

This represents an important change for ESG and marketing strategies. A claim relating to 2030 or 2040 can no longer function merely as a statement of intent. If it is used in commercial communication, the company should be prepared to demonstrate a concrete mechanism for achieving it.


PPWR: For Packaging, the Bar Is Set Even Higher

For the packaging industry, greenwashing regulations need to be analysed together with Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste – the PPWR.

Article 14 of the PPWR is particularly important. Where an environmental claim concerns a packaging property for which the Regulation establishes legal requirements, the claim may refer only to performance that exceeds the applicable minimum requirements under the PPWR. In addition, the trader must specify whether the claim relates to the entire packaging unit, only part of it, or all packaging placed on the market by the trader. Compliance with these conditions must be demonstrated in the technical documentation for the packaging referred to in Annex VII of the PPWR.

This provision may have a significant impact on the future marketing language used by the packaging industry. Merely complying with a mandatory legal minimum should not be presented as a particular environmental benefit of a product. If a specific parameter becomes a legal requirement for an entire category of packaging, presenting it as a distinctive advantage of a particular solution may also be problematic under the new consumer protection rules, which prohibit presenting a legal requirement applicable to all products within a given category as a distinguishing feature of one’s own offer.

In practice, this changes the question that should be asked before publishing a claim. It is no longer only: “Is this information true?”, but also: “Does it represent a genuine advantage above the applicable minimum, what exactly does it refer to, and where is the documentation that substantiates it?”


How to Prepare for the New Rules

The safest approach is not to abandon environmental communication. On the contrary, a well-documented and specific claim can be far more credible than a broad, generic statement. What is changing is the way such claims need to be prepared.

Before publication, it is worth verifying five key elements:
1. Scope of the claim – does it refer to the product, the entire packaging, a specific component, the production process or the company’s activities?
2. Evidence base – which documents, studies, calculations, certificates or supplier data substantiate the exact wording being used?
3. Point of reference – if an improvement, reduction or advantage is being communicated, what is it being compared against, and can the method of comparison be reproduced?
4. Overall context of the communication – do the text, symbols, names, colours and graphics together create a broader environmental promise than the available data can support?
5. Documentation validity and traceability – can the company demonstrate not only the source of the claim, but also the date of the data, the calculation method, the relevant product or SKU scope and the history of changes?

Reliable environmental communication begins with facts – and in the case of packaging, with a precise understanding of its construction, materials and technical parameters. This is the basis on which brands can assess which statements about a given solution are justified and can be properly substantiated.

At Polpak Packaging, we focus on what is within our area of responsibility: providing packaging solutions together with reliable technical information about the products we offer. If you are looking for an experienced packaging partner, contact us – we will help you select a solution tailored to the requirements of your project.

biuro@polpak.pl
+48 22 752 34 23


This material is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.