Sustainability has long been an integral part of corporate communications, product marketing, and brand positioning. Products are described as “climate-friendly,” brands as “sustainable,” and business models as “future-proof.” What was once considered positive positioning will be subject to significantly stricter regulation in the future. With the new EU Directive “Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition,” or EmpCo for short, the EU is substantially tightening the requirements for environmental and green claims.
From September 27, 2026, companies may only use many common sustainability statements if they are clear, specific, and substantiated with reliable evidence. For marketing, communications, sustainability management, and compliance, this means: green claims must not only sound convincing, but also withstand regulatory scrutiny.
What EmpCo Views as Particularly Critical
EmpCo primarily addresses statements that may give consumers a false or exaggerated impression of sustainability. Particularly relevant are:
- generic environmental claims such as “green,” “sustainable,” or “eco-friendly” without clear justification
- climate neutrality or CO₂ neutrality claims, especially when they are largely based on offsetting
- sustainability labels without an independent certification system
- unclear statements about recycled content, repairability, durability, or resource conservation
- claims that highlight individual positive aspects while omitting relevant limitations
Why Companies Should Act Now
Sustainability statements are often distributed across many channels, from websites and product pages to brochures, press releases, sustainability reports, and social media. Frequently, there is no central overview of which claims are currently being used and whether they meet the new requirements.
This is precisely where action is needed: companies should review early on which statements fall under EmpCo, whether sufficient evidence exists, and which claims need to be clarified, supplemented, or replaced.
From Claim Check to Better Communication
A sensible EmpCo preparation does not consist of eliminating all sustainability terms. The goal should be to retain good and substantiated statements while mitigating unclear or risky formulations.
This requires a structured inventory, a professional assessment of the risk associated with existing claims, and concrete recommendations for adjustments.
A pragmatic starting point is an EmpCo Quick Check with AI Agent: public communication channels such as websites, online shops, product pages, reports, or press releases are systematically reviewed for potentially critical sustainability statements. This gives companies rapid transparency about where action is needed and which claims should be adjusted.
Would you like to know which sustainability statements in your communications could become critical in the future? An EmpCo Quick Check provides a structured overview and identifies concrete next steps. Learn more about the EmpCo Quick Check here.
