Last week, the EU took a monumental step in the fight against greenwashing.
The European Parliament granted its ultimate approval and passed a directive that mandates strict evidence for environmental claims like 'eco-friendly' or 'carbon-neutral' and prohibits deceptive environmental claims on products and enhancing and misleading eco-labeling practices.
The text is ready to be approved by the EU Council, and then member states have two years to transpose it into their national laws across the EU. This is a huge and significant win for consumers and the environment.
This game-changer regulation will ensure businesses provide more transparent, clearer, and more relevant and meaningful information to consumers to protect them from deceptive advertising and early product obsolescence. Hopefully, this will nudge and help consumers make better and more sustainable choices.
This is a great example of how governments can stimulate, in a supervisory and legislative way, sustainable consumption and production in both businesses and citizens. It is imperative that governments worldwide continue to influence consumer habits and production processes toward sustainable actions through policies and public awareness. Kudos to Europe for this big step.
These are my 10 main takeaways of the directive:
