On 27 September 2026, the new regime against greenwashing introduced by Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition will begin to apply throughout the European Union. From that date, many of the environmental claims that are currently common on packaging, corporate websites and advertising will either be prohibited or subject to strict substantiation requirements.
Companies marketing products or services in the EU — including technology companies — should already be reviewing their commercial communications.
A Change in the Legal Framework, Not an Isolated Rule
Directive 2024/825 does not create an entirely new regime from scratch: it amends Directive 2005/29/EC on unfair commercial practices and Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights.
Its main approach is twofold: on the one hand, it expands the concept of misleading commercial practices to include false or confusing environmental and social information — such as information concerning durability, repairability, recyclability or circularity —; on the other hand, it adds a number of specific environmental communication practices to the “blacklist” of practices prohibited in all circumstances.
What Will Be Prohibited
Among the practices prohibited or restricted by the new regulation are:
- Generic environmental claims without substantiation: expressions such as “eco-friendly”, “green”, “environmentally friendly” or “biodegradable” may only be used if the company can demonstrate recognised and verifiable excellent environmental performance.
- Neutrality claims based on offsetting: claiming that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment on the basis of greenhouse gas emissions offsetting (“carbon neutral”, “climate neutral” and similar expressions) will be prohibited in all circumstances.
- Sustainability labels without proper backing: only sustainability labels based on transparent certification schemes that are open and subject to independent monitoring, or established by public authorities, may be displayed. Displaying a label without authorisation or without complying with the requirements of the relevant scheme will constitute an unfair commercial practice.
- Future environmental commitments without substantiation: claims concerning future environmental performance (“we will be carbon neutral by 2030”) will require clear, objective and publicly available commitments verified by an independent third party.
- Claims about an entire product when they only concern part of it: attributing an environmental characteristic to the entire product or to the company’s entire activity when, in reality, it only relates to a specific aspect.
The Situation in Spain: Pending Transposition and Proceedings by Brussels
Spain was required to transpose the Directive by 27 March 2026 and has not yet done so: in May 2026, the European Commission opened infringement proceedings for failure to communicate the complete transposition of the Directive.
The planned instrument is the future Sustainable Consumption Act (Ley de Consumo Sostenible), whose preliminary draft was approved by the Council of Ministers and which will operate by amending two central pieces of legislation: the Unfair Competition Act (Ley de Competencia Desleal) and the consolidated text of the General Act for the Protection of Consumers and Users (Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios).
The Spanish preliminary draft expressly regulates “environmental claims” and “sustainability labels”, requiring every claim to be clear, objective and verifiable, and classifying the display of labels without a valid certification basis as an unfair commercial practice. It also includes measures of its own that go beyond the Directive, such as restrictions on advertising fossil fuels or the prohibition of company names that may mislead consumers regarding the company’s environmental performance.
The fact that transposition is still pending should not be interpreted as a de facto extension of the deadline. Companies operating in several Member States will, from September, be subject to the national rules of those countries that have transposed the Directive and, in Spain, courts will be required to interpret the existing Unfair Competition Act in conformity with the Directive.
Reputational and litigation risks — including actions brought by competitors — do not wait for formal transposition.
Specific Impact on Technology Companies
Although the public debate has largely focused on consumer goods, the new regime directly affects the technology sector:
- Claims concerning digital services: statements such as “carbon-neutral cloud”, “green hosting” or “sustainable AI” based on emissions offsetting or generic formulations are directly affected.
- Marketplaces and comparison services: comparison services providing environmental information will have to disclose the criteria used, the products and suppliers compared and how the data is kept up to date.
- Proprietary labels and certifications: platforms awarding sustainability labels to sellers or products will need to ensure that the scheme complies with the requirements of transparency, openness and independent verification.
Connection with Trademark Law
In many cases, sustainability labels are legally structured as guarantee or certification marks. The new regime adds another layer of requirements: having a registered trademark is not enough; the underlying certification scheme must be transparent, open under non-discriminatory conditions and subject to third-party monitoring.
Designing or reviewing an environmental certification scheme now requires a combination of trademark law, unfair competition law and consumer law.
What Companies Should Do Now
- Audit all existing environmental claims: packaging, labelling, websites, digital advertising, product descriptions, reports and commercial materials.
- Identify claims included on the “blacklist” — generic claims without substantiation, neutrality claims based on offsetting and labels without a valid certification scheme — and plan their withdrawal or reformulation before 27 September 2026.
- Replace neutrality claims with verifiable factual statements, for example, specific investment in projects, percentages of recycled material or certified energy consumption data.
- Document the substantiation: every claim should be supported by a substantiation file containing technical evidence, traceability and, where appropriate, independent third-party verification.
- Review contracts with certification bodies, agencies and offsetting providers in order to reallocate responsibilities and guarantees.
Conclusion
27 September 2026 marks the end of unsupported environmental communication in the European Union. The combination of Directive (EU) 2024/825, the future Sustainable Consumption Act and the general unfair competition regime turns every green claim into a legally enforceable statement.
At Ferrer-Bonsoms & Sanjurjo Abogados, we advise companies on reviewing their commercial communications, designing certification schemes and managing risks related to misleading advertising and unfair competition.
If your company uses environmental claims or sustainability labels, contact us.