The Internal Market and Environment committees in the European Parliament recently adopted their position on the EU Green Claims Directive, which seeks to put an end to greenwashing by requiring companies to make sure environmental claims are verified and backed by scientific evidence.
MEPs agreed that companies should submit any future environmental marketing claims for approval before using them. Companies who break the rules may be excluded from procurements, lose their revenues and face a fine of at least at 4% of their annual turnover.
“This is a win for consumers, for transparency and for the environment,” said Irish MEP Deirdre Clune, a European lawmaker and member of both the Internal Market and Environment Committees.
“Studies from the European Commission have shown that up to 50% of companies’ environmental claims are misleading. That’s why I am supporting this directive in order to require that all environmental claims must not only be truthful but also substantiated by accredited verifiers within 30 days,” Clune added.
The legislation will also ensure that businesses have the right tools to embrace genuine sustainability practices.
The report was adopted with 85 votes to 2 and 14 abstentions and will now be put to a vote at an upcoming plenary session in Strasbourg.
