The EU Commission has recently put forth a proposal to ensure that companies provide scientific evidence to support any claims of “green” attributes for their products, in line with uniform EU standards. This proposal has been adjusted by the EU Parliament and agreed upon by the 27 EU states in the EU Council.
However, some EU states have raised concerns about the strictness of the law, particularly Austria, which worries that smaller companies may struggle with the required analyses and documentation. To address this issue, a “simplified procedure” has been proposed which allows companies to reference existing environmental labels such as the Ecolabel in Austria. However, other countries may not view these labels as reliable.
Negotiations between EU institutions are set to begin in the autumn, with many details still needing to be worked out. Once a compromise is reached, each EU state will need to translate the directive into its own laws. There are concerns about holding companies accountable for misleading claims and enforcing them effectively.
The proposed legislation aims to give consumers more information about products’ environmental impact, but there are still uncertainties about how it will be implemented and enforced. The complexities of carbon footprints, environmental impact assessments and financial resources for climate neutrality must be carefully considered during the legislative process.
Overall, while this legislation aims to promote sustainability and transparency in product labeling, it remains uncertain how well it will achieve these goals due to various challenges such as enforcement and interpretation of regulations.
