"This product is offset by the planting of 100 trees for its purchase", "Packaging made with 30% recycled plastic", "Bee-friendly juice", "Race with offset carbon", "Commitment to reduce emissions of CO2 linked to the production of this product by 50% by 2030". These are some of the claims that can be found on many supermarket products. Are they reliable? The European Commission wants to ensure that these ads are backed up with evidence to support them. Otherwise, they will be considered false to mislead and make ecoposturing or greenwashing.
Brussels wants to put the spotlight on companies that often make misleading advertising with environmental claims without sufficient foundation or evidence to back them up. This can lead to "greenwashing" when you want to influence the consumer with messages that the products or processes with which they have been manufactured are more environmentally friendly than they really are.
Product advertisements that make consumers believe this supposed respect for the environment are not accidental. More and more people are concerned about pollution and the impact of our consumption. 94% of Europeans say that protecting the environment is important, and 68% consider that their consumption habits negatively affect the climate, according to a Eurobarometer survey. Precisely for this reason, Brussels believes that if statements of this kind are made, they must be reliable and verifiable.
A study by the European Commission found that 53% of environmental claims in the EU were "vague, misleading or unfounded", and 40% lacked foundation. "The lack of common rules applicable to companies that formulate voluntary ecological declarations favors "ecological laundering" and creates unequal conditions of competition in the EU market, to the detriment of truly sustainable companies," argues Brussels.
With the new rule, companies will be forced to demonstrate that claims are supported by real data, transparency will be required, and that they are independently verified. If companies want to make these types of claims on their products, they will have to guarantee their reliability. According to the Commission, this will provide a competitive advantage for companies that make a "genuine effort" to create environmentally friendly products.
Member states will be responsible for establishing verification processes, which will be carried out by independent experts to verify that the claims are based on recognized scientific evidence. If it is proven false or companies refuse to apply the changes, they will be subject to fines of up to 4% of annual turnover in the European country where they have broken the law.
Brussels warns that especially statements related to "carbon offsets" are the most likely to be confusing and the most misleading. For example, products that claim to be "climate neutral" or "with 100% CO2 compensation". Companies will have to explain exactly what they mean when they “offset” carbon dioxide.
"Ecological claims are everywhere: ocean-friendly T-shirts, carbon-free bananas, bee-friendly juices... and they have no justification," said the European Commission's vice-president for the Green Deal , Frans Timmermans, when he presented the proposal. In addition, with the new measure, consumer organizations will be able to bring legal remedies to protect consumers in case of suspicion.
