From 27 September 2026, using generic environmental claims without demonstrating recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to that claim will constitute an unfair commercial practice. This is one of the key changes introduced by EU Directive 2024/825 (the EmpCo Directive). These new regulations, alongside the requirements stemming from the PPWR regulation, will fundamentally change how environmental credentials are formulated and presented to consumers, including on packaging.

What is the goal of the Directive?

The objective of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2024/825 of 28 February 2024—referred to as the EmpCo Directive (‘Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition’) or the anti-greenwashing directive—is to strengthen consumer protection against unfair commercial practices relating to environmental product declarations.

– The new legislation clarifies and extends the existing rules on unfair commercial practices, with the aim of empowering and protecting consumers by ensuring they have access to clear, relevant and reliable information on the environmental and other relevant characteristics of products, thereby enabling them to make informed purchasing decisions. The Directive also includes provisions designed to counter certain practices relating to the premature ageing of products and the reduction of their durability – explains Dr hab. inż. Patrycja Wojciechowska, Prof. UEP, an expert at the Natureef Association and an academic at the Poznań University of Economics and Business.

‘Green’ only with appropriate justification

Directive (EU) 2024/825 amends two legal acts: Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices, and Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights. In particular, it introduces new provisions into Directive 2005/29/EC concerning specific commercial practices relating to environmental claims, sustainability labelling and information on the durability and reparability of products.

The following, amongst other things, will be deemed to constitute an unfair commercial practice:

• making a general claim regarding environmental performance if the business operator is unable to demonstrate recognised high environmental performance relevant to that claim;
• it will also be unacceptable to make a claim regarding the environmental friendliness of the entire product or the whole of a business’s operations if, in reality, the claim relates solely to a specific aspect of the product or a specific activity of the business.

The Directive also prohibits claims based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions, according to which a product has a neutral, reduced or positive environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

An environmental claim is not just information on the packaging

– It is important to emphasise the broad scope of the concept of an ‘environmental claim’ as set out in the EmpCo Directive. It covers any message or statement used in commercial communications which is not required under EU or national law, regardless of its form. It may therefore be text, an illustration, graphic or symbol, including a trade name, company name or product name, which states or implies that a product, category of products, brand or trader has a positive impact on the environment or has no impact at all, is less harmful to the environment than other products, categories of products, brands or other traders, or that the environmental impact of the product, brand or trader has improved over time.

It is worth noting that the EmpCo Directive also introduces the concept of a ‘general environmental claim’ into Directive 2005/29/EC. This refers to any environmental claim made in writing or orally, including via audiovisual media, which is not included in a sustainability label, where the specification of the claim has not been presented in a clear and explicit manner in the same medium. Such general claims may include terms such as: ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘eco-friendly’, ‘green’, ‘ecological’, ‘biodegradable’ or ‘climate-friendly’. This distinction is of significant importance in the context of the new regulations.

The Directive prohibits the use of general environmental claims if the trader is unable to demonstrate recognised high environmental performance relevant to the claim in question. However, if a general claim is accompanied by a clear and explicit specification set out in the same medium, it is not regarded as a general environmental claim; this does not, however, preclude the application of other provisions concerning misleading commercial practices – points out Dr Eng. Patrycja Wojciechowska, and adds: ‘In practice, this means that businesses should verify not only the content of environmental claims, but also the way in which they are presented in commercial communications, including on packaging, in product labelling, advertising materials and other messages directed at consumers.’

EmpCo and PPWR – new requirements for environmental declarations and packaging labelling

The new requirements introduced by the EmpCo Directive are linked to the provisions of the PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation), although the two pieces of legislation have different scopes of application. The EmpCo Directive amends the provisions on unfair commercial practices, including new requirements relating, amongst other things, to environmental claims made to consumers. The PPWR, on the other hand, sets out specific requirements for packaging, including conditions for making environmental claims relating to the properties of packaging. In accordance with Article 14 of the PPWR, such claims may be used where they relate exclusively to those properties of packaging that go beyond the applicable minimum legal requirements set out in the Regulation, and where it is specified whether they relate to a single unit of packaging, part of a unit of packaging or to all packaging placed on the market by a given economic operator.

The transposition of the EmpCo Directive into Polish law is still ongoing

The EmpCo Directive entered into force on 26 March 2024, whilst Member States were required to adopt the necessary provisions to implement it by 27 March 2026 and to ensure that those provisions apply from 27 September 2026. In Poland, the process of transposing the Directive into national law is still ongoing. The body responsible for drafting the bill is the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK). On 29 July 2026, the first reading of the government’s draft bill amending the Act on Combating Unfair Market Practices and the Act on Consumer Rights (draft UC111) took place at a joint meeting of the Committee on Economy and Development and the Committee on Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry.
As part of the legislative process, one of the issues under discussion is the absence of transitional provisions in the draft legislation, particularly with regard to products already on the market.

Natureef will help businesses prepare for the new rules

27 September 2026 remains the date from which Member States should apply the national provisions transposing the EmpCo Directive. If the Polish Act implementing the Directive does not enter into force by that date, this will constitute a failure by Poland to fulfil its obligation under EU law within the prescribed time limit. However, the delay in the legislative process should not be treated as an additional period for businesses to prepare for the new regulations, as national supervisory authorities are obliged, within the limits set by EU law, to interpret national law in a manner consistent with the wording and purpose of the Directive.

To help businesses adapt to operating in this new reality, Natureef – an organisation bringing together leading packaging and food manufacturers in Poland – is organising a webinar featuring experts: PhD, Eng., Patrycja Wojciechowska, Professor at the Poznań University of Economics, and Dr Karolina Wiszumirska, Eng. The event will be hosted by Jasmina Solecka, Chair of the Natureef Association.
The online meeting will take place on 15 September this year, from 9.00 am to 10.30 am. Participants will learn about the requirements imposed on businesses by the EmpCo Directive and the next stages of work on the bill that transposes the directive into Polish law. Detailed information about the webinar can be found here.