On 27 September 2026, the rules on ‘green’ marketing in the EU changed. From that date EU Member States are required to apply the significantly tightened requirements for compliant green and sustainability claims contained in the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive ((EU) 2024/825, “EmpCo”), although national implementation of the EmpCo rules remains uneven: so far, 21 out of 27 EU Member States have notified transposition measures (a number doing so only after the initial deadline of 27 March 2026 had passed).
Rather than covering every angle of EmpCo, we focus here on its most consequential change – the blacklist additions to Annex I of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (“UCPD”) – and how this contrasts with the current position in the UK. In short, legitimate green claims are now much harder to make in the EU – and much easier for regulators to challenge.
What is now banned outright in the EU?
EmpCo casts a wide net. It covers not only express claims such as “eco-friendly” or “carbon neutral”, but also images, symbols, labels, brand names and product names that suggest an environmental benefit. Critically, the following practices are now on the UCPD ‘blacklist’:
- Generic environmental claims unless recognised excellent environmental performance can be shown (narrowly defined as compliance with the EU Ecolabel, national/regional EN ISO 14024 type I ecolabel, or top environmental performance under other applicable EU law);
- Applying an environmental claim about a whole-product / business where the claim only concerns a certain product or aspect of the business;
- Claiming a product has a neutral, reduced, or positive environmental impact based on greenhouse gas emission offsets;
- Presenting requirements imposed by law on all products in the category as a distinctive feature of the product; and
- Displaying non-certified sustainability labels, i.e. labels not established by a public authority or backed by an independent third-party monitored certification scheme.
How does this affect enforcement risk?
Misleading environmental claims were unlawful before EmpCo but proving it was harder. Regulators normally have to show that a claim was likely to cause the average consumer to take a decision they would not otherwise have taken. Blacklisted practices, by contrast, are unfair in all circumstances – no such proof is needed. Moving these environmental claims onto the blacklist therefore materially increases enforcement risk for businesses. Fines can also be very significant, with Member States obliged to provide for maximum penalties of at least 4% of the trader’s turnover and some Member States going further than that.
A different approach to the UK
Post-Brexit, these latest UCPD amendments have no effect in the UK, and the consumer protection provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (“DMCCA”) – in force since 6 April 2025 – contain no environmental-specific ‘blacklisted’ practices. The DMCCA lists 32 practices that are unfair in all circumstances, including publishing reviews in a misleading way and the misuse of trust or quality marks. Generic claims such as “eco-friendly” or “carbon neutral” are not, of themselves, automatically banned.
Instead, under UK consumer protection law (and the UK Green Claims Code), green claims must generally be assessed on a case-by-case basis, applying the average consumer test that EmpCo has now dispensed with for environmental claims on the blacklist; albeit some environmental claims might still be caught by the DMCCA’s banned practices, e.g. a false environmental trust mark or a false claim of endorsement by an environmental body.
Looking ahead – early EU enforcement priorities
Under a June 2026 Common Understanding reached through the Consumer Protection Cooperation network, national authorities have agreed to phase enforcement where traders face genuine and specific transitional difficulties, taking account of old stock volumes, shelf-life and technical feasibility, with the expectation that businesses will, in good faith, seek to comply as soon as practicable.
We therefore expect early action to focus on areas where compliance should be relatively easy to achieve – e.g. digital channels and consumer communications – but time will tell.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
[View Source]
