Please find below a Questions & Answers document from the European Commission regarding the new Directive (EU) 2024/825 on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition. Below is a summary of the main points to help you understand the upcoming changes and their implications.

Summary of Key Points

1. Scope of the Directive
The Directive amends the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) and the Consumer Rights Directive (CRD). It focuses on preventing misleading environmental claims (greenwashing) and improving consumer information on durability, repairability and guarantee rights. It applies only to B2C commercial practices.

2. Environmental Claims – Stricter Rules

• Any claim (explicit or implied) suggesting environmental benefits, through words, images, colours, or symbols, may fall under the new rules.
• Generic environmental claims such as “eco-friendly,” “green,” or “climate-friendly” are prohibited unless the trader can demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance, e.g., compliance with the EU Ecolabel or ISO Type I labels.
• Claims based solely on carbon offsetting (e.g., “carbon neutral” through tree-planting schemes) will be banned for products.

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3. Sustainability Labels

• Only sustainability labels based on a certification scheme or established by public authorities may be used.
• Third-country public authority labels will be prohibited unless they meet EU certification-scheme requirements.
• Certification schemes must meet strict criteria (independence, transparency, public requirements).

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4. Use of Brand Names and Packaging Imagery

• Brand or product names implying environmental benefits (e.g. “eco”, “green”, “climate neutral”) may be considered environmental claims.
• Visual elements such as leaves, water, and green colour schemes may imply environmental benefits when used with text or logos.

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5. Claims About Future Environmental Performance

• Future-oriented claims (e.g., “we will be carbon neutral by 2030”) must be backed by:
  • clear, measurable, time-bound commitments,
  • a detailed implementation plan, and
  • regular third-party verification made publicly accessible.

6. Prohibition of Irrelevant Claims

• Advertising benefits that are irrelevant to the product (e.g., “gluten-free water”) will be considered misleading.

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7. Application Timeline and Existing Products

• Member States must transpose the Directive by 27 March 2026.
• The rules will apply from 27 September 2026.
• Existing products must comply; traders may need to cover or update packaging or provide additional point-of-sale information.

Changes to the Consumer Rights Directive

8. Reparability Score

• A new EU-wide reparability score will gradually apply to various product groups.
• The first mandatory score already applies to smartphones and tablets.

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9. Durability and Repairability Information

• Traders must provide consumers with information on durability, spare parts, repair conditions, and software update periods when this information is supplied by producers.
• Producers are not obliged to proactively share this information, but may choose to for commercial advantage.

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10. New Harmonised Guarantee Notices

• A compulsory harmonised notice on legal guarantee rights must be displayed prominently at the point of sale.
• A separate harmonised label will identify products with a commercial guarantee of durability longer than two years (voluntarily offered by producers).

Please note a Commission FAQ are preliminary views of the European Commission (EC) services and may not under any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the EC.