Description
The European Parliament voted in an overwhelming majority for the following amendments to the legislative proposal by the European Commission in May 2023:
- Making an environmental claim without being able to provide evidence of its relevance
- Claiming that a product has a neutral, reduced, offset or positive impact on the environment through a carbon offset mechanism
- To make an environmental claim for an entire product when it only concerns certain aspects of the product
Next up: the European Council will decide on the amended proposal.
Overwhelming majority of European parliament quashes green deception
Companies should no longer use 'carbon offsets' and other unsubstantiated environmental claims such as 'climate neutral' and 'environmentally friendly' as a shield. This was decided by the European Parliament today in a vote on amendments to a legislative proposal aimed at protecting consumers from false environmental claims and greenwashing so that they can make informed sustainable choices. The proposal was adopted by an overwhelming majority: 544 in favour, 18 against and 17 abstentions.
In the EU, there are more than 1,200 greenwashing claims in circulation, such as 'climate neutral', 'environmentally friendly' and 'eco'. The new law bans these environmental claims unless proven in detail. The law also prohibits companies from advertising CO2 offsets "as this practice falsely leads consumers to believe that related products or services are safe for the environment," Euractiv writes about the adopted bill. This will make it impossible for companies like Shell, for example, to advertise CO2-compensated petrol or gas. Also, companies will soon no longer be able to claim to be climate-neutral by 2050, if no realistic plan including budget is linked to this. In addition, the ban also applies to other types of deception, such as claiming something about an entire product while the environmental claim only applies to part of it. The latter makes it impossible for KLM, for example, to advertise with biofuel.
Green transition
"We will ban environmental claims if they are not well-founded," MEP and committee chair Biljana Borzan (S&D) said in the debate on 9 May ahead of the vote on the legislative amendment to empower consumers to do their bit for the green transition. "For example, claims that something is environmentally friendly or climate neutral. In addition, companies will no longer be able to use carbon offsets as an asset."
Empty promises
"More and more consumers are trying to choose environmentally friendly products and services," MEP Edina Toth, from the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety committee, explained the tightening of the bill. "But those good intentions are in vain if many of those providers only make empty promises."
Support from left to right
The bill is supported from left to right. "We want to attack greenwashing," said Sandro Gozi on behalf of Renew, which includes the VVD. "That is too often used by companies to polish their blazon a bit." "Consumer society has been derailed," spoke his colleague from The Greens, David Cormand. "We as the EU must be the first to change. That greenwashing, where there is talk of hypothetical offsets, that has to end."
Phasing out fossil
Advertising Fossil Free welcomes the tightened law. "The European Parliament today puts an end to advertisements that aim to cover up the harm of a product with sustainable words or green images. Without the green deception, it becomes clear to everyone that fossil fuel is harmful and therefore needs to be phased out quickly."
Government task
The campaign group sees tackling misleading advertising as a first step towards a total ban on fossil advertisements. "Not only false environmental claims, but all advertisements that promote a fossil company or product, such as air travel or polluting cars, should disappear from the streets and (social) media as soon as possible."
Globally growing movement
Member states have yet to approve the new text of the bill. Once that is done, each country must implement it in its own legislation. Globally, the movement to get rid of fossil advertising is growing. The French newspaper Le Monde decided last month to ban fossil advertising. And this week Zwolle decided to be the first municipality in the world to ban fossil advertising by law instead of through a voluntary covenant.