Businesses call on the EU co-legislators to clarify, harmonise and simplify the Green Claims Directive

Together with 13 industry associations, A.I.S.E. urges EU policymakers to harmonise, simplify and streamline the requirements under the Green Claims Directive. We therefore call for a proportionate and clear framework, levelling the playing field for economic operators and safeguarding businesses’ competitiveness and incentive to invest, empowering both businesses and consumers to pave the way for the green transition.
While we fully endorse the Directive’s objective to tackle greenwashing and ensure clear and trustworthy sustainability information that enables consumers to make sustainable purchase decisions, we caution that overly complex and impractical regulations could stifle innovation, increase costs and impede businesses from effectively communicating their sustainability efforts.
Our main appeals for policymakers’ attention during the negotiations are:

• A ban on green claims strictly based on the intrinsic hazards of substances would be disproportionate and counterproductive. There is no established correlation between the presence of such substances and misleading environmental claims.
• Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach for substantiation and verification requirements to prevent disproportionate rules and unnecessary burdens for claims related to environmental aspects.
• Establish reasonable transition periods to prevent unnecessary packaging and product destruction.
• Clarify the Directive’s scope to avoid overlaps with other EU legislation (e.g., PPWR, CSRD).

A balanced and transparent framework is crucial for fostering sustainability investments and ensuring consumers receive valuable information. We are eager to collaborate with policymakers to achieve this objective.

Read the full joint statement and the list of signatories here: