Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedSHORT JUSTIFICATION

AddedWhere the report concludes that the use of explicit environmental claims in a product or product group containing substances or preparations/mixtures referred to in sub-paragraph 1 is misleading, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 18 to supplement the requirements for substantiation of explicit environmental claims by introducing restrictions or prohibitions on the use of explicit environmental claims for this product or product group. [Am. 68]

RemovedThe Rapporteur welcomes the Commission’s initiative to update Union consumer law to ensure consumer protection and to enable them to actively contribute to the green transition by proposing the Directive on the substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims (Green Claims Directive). The Rapporteur is also of the view to support the commitment to tackle false environmental claims by ensuring that buyers receive reliable, comparable and verifiable information that enables them to make more sustainable decisions and reduce the risk of ‘greenwashing’.

Added4. When the regular monitoring of the evolution of explicit environmental claims referred to in Article 20 reveals differences in the application of the requirements laid down in paragraph 1 for specific claims and such differences create obstacles formay have an adverse impact on the functioning of the internal market, or where the Commission identifies that the absence of requirements for specific claims leadsmay lead to widespread misleading of consumers, the Commission mayshall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 18 to supplement the requirements for substantiation of explicit environmental claims laid downin paragraph 1 by: [Am. 69]

RemovedThe Rapporteur finds it crucial that the information requirements are relevant to the substantiation and that the existing environmental labelling schemes are considered as sufficient information to fulfil requirements set out in the Directive.

Added(-a) determining the relevant environmental impacts that shall be covered by the substantiation; [Am. 70]

RemovedThe Rapporteur sees that, while this regulation is expected to eliminate misleading or false claims and it could help to ensure proper enforcement, it will impose additional administrative burden and costs on agricultural producers and traders wishing to make such claims. At the same time, the impact on small enterprises is expected to be higher than on larger companies. For this reason, it is of utmost importance to ensure adequate financial and administrative support to all companies, with a special focus on small and medium-sized ones.

Added(a) determining the rules for assessing the environmental aspects, environmental impacts and environmental performance, including by determining the activities, processes, materials, emissions or use of a product, which contribute significantly or cannot contribute to the relevant environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance;

RemovedAMENDMENTS

Added(b) determining for which environmental aspects or environmental impacts primary information shall be provided and determining criteria based on which the accuracy of the primary information and secondary information can be assessed; or

RemovedThe Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development calls on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, as the committees responsible, to take the following into account:

Added(c) establishing specific life-cycle-based rules on substantiation of explicit environmental claims for certain product groups and sectors, including where appropriate on the basis of the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules and Organisation Environmental Footprint Sectorial Rules where those rules cover all environmental impacts or aspects relevant for the product category or trader. [Am. 71]

RemovedRecital 1: (1) Claiming to be “green” and sustainable has become a competitiveness factor, with green products registering greater growth than standard products. If goods and services offered and purchased on the internal market are not as environmentally friendly in terms of compliance as presented, this would mislead the consumers, hamper the objectives linked to the green transition and prevent the reduction of negative environmental impacts. The potential of green markets is not fully realised. Different requirements imposed by national legislation or private initiatives regulating environmental claims create a burden and uncertainty for companies in cross-border trade, as they need to comply with different requirements in each Member State. This affects their capacity to operate in and take advantage of the internal market. At the same time, market participants have difficulties with identifying reliable environmental claims and making optimal purchasing decisions on the internal market. With a proliferation of different labels and calculation methods on the market, it is difficult for consumers, businesses, investors and stakeholders to establish if claims are trustworthy and if they ensure compliance.

Added4a. To supplement the provisions on the use of certified units for residual emissions of a trader, the Commission shall adopt by [12 months from the date of entry into force of this Directive] a delegated act in accordance with Article 18 to establish a method for defining residual emissions, based on an emission reduction pathway compatible with limiting global warming to 1.5°C taking into account technological feasibility and in consultation with the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change. [Ams. 162/rev and 172]

RemovedRecital 4: (4) It is therefore necessary to harmonise further the regulation of environmental claims. Such harmonisation will strengthen the market for more sustainable products and traders by avoiding market fragmentation due to diverging national approaches. It will also set a benchmark that can drive the global transition to a just, climate-neutral, resource-efficient and circular economy68. The purpose of Europe-wide harmonised regulation is to reduce trade barriers and the costs linked to compliance with different standards. This will make cross-border trade easier and encourage the development of a global market for sustainable products.

Added4b. By ... [1 year from the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall identify the most common explicit environmental claims made on the Union market and publish a working plan listing the claims that the Commission intends to supplement with the delegated act referred to in paragraph 4. That working plan shall be updated at least every 3 years. [Am. 72]

RemovedRecital 5: (5) Detailed Union rules on substantiation of explicit environmental claims, applicable to companies operating on the Union market in business to consumer communication, will contribute to the green transition towards a circular, climate-neutral and clean economy in the Union by enabling consumers to take informed purchasing decisions, and will help create a level-playing field for market operators making such claims. However, that new regulatory framework should not lead to a disproportionate additional administrative or financial burden for companies, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Added4c. By ... [1 year from the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall adopt guidelines to facilitate the interpretation of Article 3(1) point (b). [Am. 73]

RemovedRecital 9: (9) Within the context of the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy, and in accordance with the target of achieving 25% of EU agricultural land under organic farming by 2030 and a significant increase in organic aquaculture and with the Action Plan on the Development of Organic Production (COM(2021) 141), organic farming and organic production need to be developed further, ensuring support, for small and medium-sized enterprises in particular, so that they can contribute to that. As regards Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council 73, this Directive should not apply to environmental claims on organically certified products substantiated on the basis of that Regulation, related, for instance, to the use of pesticides, fertilisers and anti-microbials or, for instance, to positive impacts of organic farming on biodiversity, soil or water74. It also has a positive impact on biodiversity, it creates jobs and attracts young farmers. Consumers recognise its value. In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/848, the terms “bio” and “eco” and their derivatives, whether alone or in combination, are only to be used in the Union for products, their ingredients or feed materials that fall under the scope of that Regulation where they have been produced in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/848. For instance, in order to call the cotton “eco”, it has to be certified as organic, as it falls within the scope of Regulation (E…

Added5. When specifying further the requirements for substantiation of explicit environmental claims in accordance with previous paragraph, the Commission shall take into account scientific or other available technical information, including relevant international standards, and where relevant consider the following:

RemovedRecital 14: (14) The proposal for a Directive on empowering consumers for the green transition which amends Directive 2005/29/EC, sets out a number of specific requirements on environmental claims and prohibits generic environmental claims which are not based on recognised environmental standards relevant to the claim. Examples of such generic environmental claims are ‘eco-friendly’, ‘eco’, ‘green’, ‘nature’s friend’, ‘ecological’ and ‘environmentally correct’. This Directive should complement the requirements set out in that proposal by addressing specific aspects and requirements for explicit environmental claims as regards their substantiation, communication and verification, without, however, introducing a disproportionate administrative or financial burden for companies, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. The requirements set out in this Directive should apply to specific aspects of explicit environmental claims and will prevail over the requirements set out in Directive 2005/29/EC with regard to those aspects in case of conflict, pursuant to Article 3(4) of that Directive.

Added(a) the specificities of the sectors and products that require a specific methodological approach;

RemovedRecital 15: (15) In order to ensure that consumers are provided with reliable, comparable and verifiable information which enables them to make more environmentally sustainable decisions and to reduce the risk of ‘greenwashing, it is necessary to establish requirements for substantiation of explicit environmental claims. Such substantiation should take into account internationally recognised scientific approaches to identifying and measuring environmental impacts, environmental aspects and environmental performance of products or traders, it should be based on a cost-benefit impact assessment, focusing in particular on the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises, and it should result in reliable, transparent, comparable and verifiable information to the consumer.

Added(aa) existing Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules and Organisation Environmental Footprint Sectorial Rules; [Am. 74]

RemovedRecital 16: (16) The assessment made to substantiate explicit environmental claims needs to consider the life-cycle of the product and should not omit any relevant environmental aspects or environmental impacts, while bearing in mind the need to limit the administrative and financial burden on traders as much as possible. The benefits claimed should not result in an unjustified transfer of negative impacts to other stages of the life cycle of a product or to the creation or increase of other negative environmental impacts.

Added(b) the potential contribution of specific product groups or sectors to achieving Union climate and environmental objectives;

RemovedRecital 21: (21) Climate-related claims have been shown to be particularly prone to being unclear and ambiguous and to mislead consumers. This relates notably to environmental claims that products or entities are “climate neutral”, “carbon neutral”, “100% CO2 compensated”, or will be “net-zero” by a given year, or similar. Such statements are often based on “offsetting” of greenhouse gas emissions through “carbon credits” generated outside the company’s value chain, for example from forestry or renewable energy projects. The methodologies underpinning offsets vary widely and are not always transparent, accurate, or consistent. This leads to significant risks of overestimations and double counting of avoided or reduced emissions, due to a lack of additionality, permanence, ambitious and dynamic crediting baselines that depart from business as usual, and accurate accounting. These factors result in offset credits of low environmental integrity and credibility that mislead consumers when they are relied upon in explicit environmental claims. Offsetting can also deter traders from emissions reductions in their own operations and value chains. In order to adequately contribute to global climate change mitigation targets, traders should prioritise effective reductions of emissions across their own operations and value chains instead of relying on offsets. Any resulting residual emissions will vary by sector-specific pathway in line with the global climate targets and will have to be addressed …

Added(c) any relevant information derived from Union legislation;

RemovedRecital 23: (23) The information used to substantiate explicit environmental claims should be science based and up-to-date, take into account relevant international standards, such as those established by the International Organization for Standardization, and any lack of consideration of certain environmental impacts or environmental aspects should be carefully considered, thereby ensuring that environmental claims are based on scientific evidence and that the environmental impact is accurately assessed. Particular attention should be paid to the exhaustive consideration of the total environmental impact for innovative products and activities, namely those subject to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council 74a. / 74a Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on novel foods, amending Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1852/2001.

Added(d) ease of access to information and data for the assessment and use of this information and data by micro enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’). [Am. 75]

RemovedRecital 26 a (new): (26a) Widely recognised scientific evidence indicates that the assessment of a claim should be based on methodologies, approaches or studies that have been developed in line with best practices in terms of transparency and have been independently peer-reviewed by the scientific community, published in scientific journals and, where available, take account of the existing international standards that are relevant to the claim that is made, such as ISO or CEN/CENELEC standards.

Added5a. Where there is no recognised scientific method or insufficient evidence to assess environmental impacts and aspects, the exclusion of these impacts shall be transparent and efforts shall be made to develop methods and accumulate evidence to enable the assessment of the respective impact. Until the method meeting the requirements set out in the first paragraph is developed, claims referring to such environmental impacts shall not be made. [Am. 76]

RemovedRecital 30: (30) While unfair commercial practices, including misleading environmental claims, are prohibited for all traders pursuant to Directive 2005/29/EC84, an administrative burden linked to substantiation and verification of environmental claims on the smallest companies could be disproportionate and should be avoided. In order to promote a more flexible approach and support sustainable development among microenterprises, microenterprises should be exempted from the requirements on substantiation of Article 3 and 4 unless these enterprises wish to obtain a certificate of conformity of explicit environmental claims that will be recognised by the competent authorities across the Union.

AddedArticle 4 Substantiation of comparative explicit environmental claims

RemovedRecital 32: (32) The Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279 contains guidance on how to measure the life cycle environmental performance of specific products or organisations and how to develop Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) and Organisation Environmental Footprint Sectorial Rules (OEFSRs) that allow comparison of products to a benchmark. Such category rules for specific products or traders can be used to support the substantiation of claims in line with the requirements of this Directive. Therefore, the Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts to establish product group or sector specific rules where this may have added value. However, in case the Product Environmental Footprint method does not yet cover an impact category, which is relevant for a product group, the adoption of PEFCR may take place only once these new relevant environmental impact categories have been added. The Commission should consult industry stakeholders in the process of determining the impact categories and associated methodologies to be added to the Product Environmental Footprint. For example, as regards marine fisheries, the PEFCR should for example reflect the fisheries-specific environmental impact categories, in particular the sustainability of the targeted stock. Concerning space, the PEFCR should reflect defence and space-specific environmental impact categories, including the orbital space use. As regards food and agricultural products, biodiversity and nature pro…

Added1. The substantiation of explicit environmental claims that state or imply that a product or trader has less environmental impacts or a better environmental performance than other products or traders (‘comparative environmental claims’) shall, in addition to the requirements set out in Article 3, comply with the following requirements:

RemovedRecital 35: (35) In order to facilitate consumers’ choices of more sustainable products and to incentivise efforts of traders to lower their environmental impacts, when the claim communicated relates to future environmental performance, it should as a priority be based on improvements inside trader’s own operations and value chains rather than relying on offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions or other environmental impacts. This approach ensures a real commitment to sustainability and to reducing reliance on solutions that could be considered as mere corrective or compensatory measures.

Added(a) the information and data, data and methods used for assessing the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of the products or traders against which the comparison is made, are equivalent to the information and data, data and methods used for assessing the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of the product or trader which is subject to the claim; [Am. 77]

RemovedRecital 43: (43) In order to combat misleading explicit environmental claims communicated in the form of environmental labels and increase consumer trust in environmental labels, this Directive should establish common governance criteria that ensure uniformity and clarity and that all environmental labelling schemes are to comply with, to help consumers make informed decisions, fully aware of the facts, complementing thus the requirements set in the said proposal amending Directive 2005/29/EC.

Added(b) the data used for assessing the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of the products or traders is generated or sourced in an equivalent manner as the data used for assessing the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of the products or traders against which the comparison is made;

RemovedRecital 45: (45) In order not to create unnecessary barriers to international trade, to avoid unfair competition practices in the internal market and to ensure fair competition and equal treatment with the public schemes established in the Union, the public authorities outside of the Union setting up new labelling schemes should be allowed to request approval from the Commission for use of the label on the Union market. This approval should be conditional on compliance with the rules established under this Directive and on the scheme’s contribution to reaching the objectives of this Directive and provided that the schemes demonstrate added value in terms of environmental ambition, coverage of environmental impacts, product group or sector and meet all the requirements of this Directive.

Added(c) the coverage of the stages along the value chain is equivalent for the products and traders compared and ensures that the most significant stages are taken into account for all products and traders;

RemovedRecital 47: (47) In order to provide legal certainty and facilitate enforcement of the provisions on new national and regional officially recognised environmental labelling schemes and new private labelling schemes, the Commission should publish a list of such schemes that may either continue to apply on the Union market or enter the Union market. The publication of official lists would ensure clarity for traders and consumers alike, making it easier to access relevant information and removing any ambiguity regarding the recognition and application of different labelling systems.

Added(d) the coverage of environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performances is equivalent for the products and traders compared and ensures that the most significant environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performances are taken into account for all products and traders;

RemovedRecital 47 a (new): (47a) Regular revisions of environmental labelling schemes are of fundamental importance in order to ensure their continuous improvement. For this reason, this Directive should ensure that the verification and certification of the substantiation and communication of environmental labelling schemes ensures their continuous improvement.

Added(e) assumptions used for the comparison are set in an equivalent manner for the products and traders compared.

RemovedRecital 49: (49) It is essential that explicit environmental claims reflect correctly the environmental performance and environmental impacts covered by the claim, and consider the latest scientific evidence, without, however, introducing disproportionate administrative and financial burden for companies, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Member States should therefore ensure that the trader making the claim reviews and updates the substantiation and communication of the claims at least every 5 years to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Directive.

Added2. Where a comparative environmental claim relates to an improvement in terms of environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of a product that is subject to the claim compared to environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of another product from the same trader, from a competing trader that is no longer active on the market or from a trader that no longer sells to consumers, the substantiation of the claim shall explain how that improvement affects other relevant environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of the product subject to the claim and shall clearly state the baseline year for the comparison.

RemovedRecital 52: (52) In order to provide traders with legal certainty across the internal market as regards compliance of the explicit environmental claims with the requirements of this Directive, the certificate of conformity should be automatically recognised by the competent authorities across the Union. Microenterprises should be allowed to request such certificate if they wish to certify their claims in line with the requirements of this Directive and benefit from the certificate’s recognition across the Union. The certificate of conformity should however not prejudge the assessment of the environmental claim by the public authorities or courts which enforce Directive 2005/29/EC.

Added3. The requirements laid down in this Article shall not apply to traders that are microenterprises within the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC unless they request the verification with the aim of receiving the certificate of conformity in accordance with Article 10.

RemovedRecital 54: (54) Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should be able to benefit from the opportunities provided by the market for more sustainable products but they could face proportionately higher costs and difficulties in complying with some of the requirements on substantiation and verification of explicit environmental claims. The Commission and Member States should provide adequate information and raise awareness of the ways to comply with the requirements of this Directive, ensure targeted and specialised training, and provide specific assistance and support, including financial, to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises wishing to make explicit environmental claims on their products or as regards their activities. The Commission should set up a fair system for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to implement the provisions of this Directive by ensuring technical and financial support, and by helping Member States to take actions in respect of applicable State aid rules.

AddedArticle 5 Communication of explicit environmental claims

RemovedRecital 60: (60) When competent authorities detect an infringement of requirements of this Directive they should carry out an evaluation and based on its results notify the trader about the infringement detected and require that corrective actions are taken by the trader. To minimise the misleading effect on consumers of the non-compliant explicit environmental claim or non-compliant environmental labelling scheme, the trader should be required by the competent authorities to take an effective and rapid action to remediate that infringement. The corrective action required should be proportionate to the infringement detected and its proven harmful effects on the consumers.

Added1. Member States shall ensure that a trader is required to communicate an explicit environmental claim in accordance with the requirements set out in this Article.

RemovedRecital 62: (62) Competent authorities should also carry out checks of explicit environmental claims on the Union market when in possession of and based on relevant information, including substantiated concerns submitted by third parties. Third parties submitting a concern should be able to demonstrate the impairment of a right.

Added2. Explicit environmental claims may only cover environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance that are substantiated in accordance with the requirements laid down in Articles 3, 4 and 5 and that are identified as significant for the product or trader concerned in accordance with Article 3 paragraph (1) point (c) or (d).

RemovedRecital 63: (63) In order to ensure that traders are effectively dissuaded from non-compliance with the requirements of this Directive, Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Directive and ensure that those rules are directly proportionate to the damage caused and that they are implemented. The penalties provided for should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. To facilitate a more consistent application of penalties, it is necessary to establish common non-exhaustive criteria for determining the types and levels of penalties to be imposed in case of infringements, in relation to the damage caused. That criteria should include, inter alia, the nature and gravity of the infringement, the damage caused by the infringement, as well as the economic benefits derived from the infringement in order to ensure that those responsible are deprived of those benefits.

Added3. Where the explicit environmental claim is related to a final product, and the use or end-of-life phase is among the most relevant life-cycle stages of that product, the claim shall include information on how the consumer should use or dispose of the product in order to achieve the expected environmental performance of that product. That information shall be made clearly visible and available together with the claim. [Am. 78]

RemovedRecital 65: (65) When adopting delegated acts pursuant to Article 290 TFEU, it is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, at expert level involving all Member States, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making 89. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

Added4. Where the explicit environmental claim is related to future environmental performance of a product ortrader, the trader it shall include a time-bound commitment for improvements inside own operations and value chains.: