EmpCo and Packaging: The New Rules for Green Claims Are Here

2 days ago

6 min read

27 September 2026 marks an important shift for environmental marketing in Europe.

The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive — commonly referred to as EmpCo, Directive (EU) 2024/825 — is no longer something companies selling into the EU should be preparing for.

From today, the national measures implementing the Directive apply.

EmpCo was adopted to strengthen consumer protection against misleading environmental claims, unreliable sustainability labels and other commercial practices that can influence consumers' purchasing decisions. The Directive itself required EU Member States to adopt and publish their national implementing measures by 27 March 2026 and to apply those measures from 27 September 2026.

This distinction matters because EmpCo is a Directive, not a Regulation. Unlike PPWR, it does not simply apply as one directly applicable EU regulation. Member States transpose the requirements into national law, and enforcement takes place through national consumer-protection frameworks and authorities.

So, although the core rules originate at EU level, the enforcement mechanisms, procedures and sanctions can vary between Member States.

Environmental claims are now a compliance issue

For packaging teams, one of the most important changes is how broadly EmpCo defines an environmental claim.

It covers voluntary messages or representations — including text, graphics, symbols, labels, brand names, company names and product names — that state or imply that a product, brand or business has a positive or zero environmental impact, is less damaging than alternatives, or has improved its environmental performance over time.

That means compliance is not limited to the sustainability page of a website.

It can extend to:

claims printed directly on packaging;
icons and environmental badges;
product descriptions and e-commerce pages;
advertising and social media;
recyclability and circularity statements;
carbon and climate claims; and
the overall visual presentation used to communicate an environmental benefit.

For packaging professionals, this is particularly relevant because environmental and circularity characteristics — including durability, reparability and recyclability — are explicitly included among the product characteristics that can form the basis of a misleading commercial practice.

“Eco-friendly”, “green” and “biodegradable” need much more attention

One of the biggest changes concerns generic environmental claims.

The Directive specifically identifies examples including:

“environmentally friendly”, “eco-friendly”, “green”, “climate friendly”, “biodegradable” and “biobased”.

Generic claims of this kind are prohibited where the trader cannot demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim.

That does not mean that companies can no longer communicate environmental improvements.

It means the communication needs to become more specific.

The Directive itself gives a useful example. “Climate-friendly packaging” is a generic claim. A more specific statement such as “100% of the energy used to produce this packaging comes from renewable sources” does not fall under that generic-claim prohibition, although it must still comply with the other rules on misleading commercial practices.

This is the direction I have been recommending to clients for some time:

Move away from broad sustainability language and towards specific, measurable and substantiated information.

Carbon-neutral claims based on offsets are particularly exposed

Another major change is the treatment of carbon claims.

EmpCo prohibits claims that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions when that claim is based on offsetting emissions outside the product's value chain.

The Directive gives examples including “climate neutral”, “CO2 neutral certified”, “carbon positive”, “climate net zero”, “climate compensated” and “reduced climate impact”.

This does not mean businesses cannot invest in carbon-credit or environmental projects.

They can communicate those investments. But they should not use external offsetting to create the impression that the product itself has become carbon neutral or has a reduced climate impact.

That is an important distinction for packaging claims.

Your own sustainability badge may no longer be acceptable

This is another area where I expect companies to need significant changes.

EmpCo prohibits displaying a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme or established by a public authority.

A qualifying certification scheme needs more than simply third-party approval. Under the Directive, its requirements must be publicly available; access must operate under transparent, fair and non-discriminatory terms; requirements must be developed in consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders; there must be procedures for non-compliance; and compliance monitoring must be conducted objectively by an independent and competent third party.

The Directive specifically refers to ISO/IEC 17065 as an example of a relevant international standard for demonstrating the competence and independence of certification bodies.

Cradle to Cradle Certified® is an example of an established third-party certification scheme relevant in this context. Its certification body is accredited to ISO/IEC 17065 by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), and Cradle to Cradle Certified® is independently verified as a Type I ecolabel conforming to ISO 14024. The Institute has also updated its Green Claims Guidance specifically to align certification-based communications with EmpCo requirements.

However, certification does not give a company unlimited freedom to make environmental claims. The communication still needs to accurately reflect the scope and level of what has actually been certified. C2C itself emphasises that certification-based claims should remain within the scope of the certified performance.

So putting a green leaf around a statement and having somebody independently verify that statement does not automatically transform a company-created badge into a compliant sustainability label.

Companies need to distinguish between:

substantiation of a claim and qualification of a sustainability label or certification scheme.

They are not the same thing.

You cannot make the whole product “sustainable” because one part improved

EmpCo also directly addresses another practice I regularly see in packaging communication: expanding a specific improvement into a much broader claim.

The Directive prohibits environmental claims about an entire product or entire business when the environmental benefit actually concerns only one aspect of the product or one specific activity of the business.

Its own example is highly relevant to packaging: a product should not be marketed as “made with recycled material” in a way that suggests the entire product contains recycled material when actually only its packaging does.

For packaging teams, the lesson is simple:

Be precise about what the claim refers to.

“Bottle made with 50% recycled plastic” communicates something very different from an undefined claim such as “made with recycled materials”.

What does enforcement look like from today?

Enforcement remains primarily a Member State responsibility through national consumer-protection authorities.

Importantly, the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network have already developed a common understanding on enforcement to support a more consistent and proportionate approach across the Single Market. The Commission has said national authorities should consider genuine transitional difficulties — including existing stock volumes, shelf life and technical feasibility — and, in appropriate cases, may favour preventive measures such as clarification before sanctions.

That should not be interpreted as a general grace period.

The application date remains 27 September 2026. The Directive itself is explicit on that point.

Germany, for example, has confirmed that from 27 September businesses must be able to substantiate environmental advertising claims, while generic claims such as “climate neutral” or “environmentally friendly” face the new restrictions and sustainability seals must meet the applicable requirements.

The practical message for businesses is therefore not to assume that the same enforcement process will look identical in every EU market.

What should companies do now?

If your company sells consumer products into the EU, I would not limit the review to the sustainability team.

Bring together marketing, packaging, legal/compliance, procurement and product development and create an inventory of every environmental communication currently reaching consumers.

For packaging specifically, I would review:

Claims: recyclable, recycled, biodegradable, compostable, biobased, plastic-free, eco-friendly, sustainable, responsible, green, climate-friendly and similar wording.
Carbon claims: carbon neutral, net zero, climate compensated and any claims relying on carbon offsets.
Badges and icons: particularly company-created environmental logos and supplier or industry sustainability marks.
Scope: check whether a statement actually relates to the whole product, the packaging, one packaging component or one particular environmental attribute.
Evidence: connect each claim to the technical evidence supporting it — test reports, material specifications, LCAs, chain-of-custody documentation, certification, supplier evidence or other appropriate substantiation.
Digital communication: don't stop at the packaging artwork. Review websites, product pages, retailer listings, advertising and social media as well.

And remember: a QR code with additional evidence can be useful, but it does not automatically fix a misleading headline claim on the packaging. The Directive requires the specification of a generic environmental claim to be provided in clear and prominent terms on the same medium if it is to avoid being treated as generic. You can find the latest FAQ here.

This changes the role of packaging

For me, EmpCo is another sign that environmental communication can no longer be separated from packaging engineering.

If you say a pack is recyclable, biodegradable, biobased, made with recycled material or environmentally better than another option, somebody needs to understand exactly what material is being used, what the claim covers, what testing or methodology supports it, and whether the evidence actually justifies the words consumers see.

This is where marketing language meets material science and regulation.

And from 27 September 2026, that intersection carries significantly greater regulatory importance in the EU.

If your company needs support reviewing environmental claims, sustainability labels or packaging communications against the new EmpCo requirements, AWEN Packaging Consulting can help you identify compliance gaps, review the evidence behind your environmental claims and determine what needs to change under the new EmpCo requirements.

Get in touch with AWEN if you need support reviewing your packaging claims, sustainability labels or environmental communications for the EU market.

Want a quick overview first? We’ve created a practical slide deck summarising the key requirements of the Directive and what they mean for businesses. Download it below.