The EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECGTD) is a long-awaited piece of greenwashing legislation. The law heavily regulates how companies can make sustainability claims in the EU market, and outright bans certain sustainability claims. A recent Debevoise & Plimpton memo discusses the marketing prohibitions contained in the ECGTD, stating:
“The UCPD includes a list (in Annex I) of commercial practices which are considered intrinsically unfair and hence automatically prohibited, such as displaying a trust mark without prior authorisation. The ECGTD amends the list of commercial practices, to include (i) displaying a sustainability label on a product where the label is not based on an established third-party certification scheme or has not been established by a public authority; (ii) making a generic environmental claim about an entire product or business when the claim concerns only an aspect of the product or business; and (iii) making claims about a product or service, such as a flight, being carbon neutral or positive which is based on offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, rather than on the actual emissions of the product.”
In addition to banning certain marketing practices, the ECGTD also expands the Consumer Rights Directive and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. These amendments expand consumer protections related to sustainability claims and require standardized labeling for durability. Penalties for ECGTD violations will be determined at the member state level. Member states have until September 27, 2026 to transpose the ECGTD into national law.
Our members can learn more about greenwashing regulation here.
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