EU Member States move forward with transposition of Anti-Greenwashing Directive – Update Germany

Background

Environmental advertising continues to be a legally sensitive area for businesses (please also see our article of 1 July 2025, On Hold: EU pulls the plug on Green Claims Directive ).

Environmental claims are already subject to intense legal scrutiny under current EU law based on the general prohibition of misleading commercial practices. According to German case law, strict standards apply concerning the accuracy, clarity, and unambiguity of green claims – comparable to those governing health-related advertising. The environmental and consumer protection organization „Deutsche Umwelthilfe“ e.g. is currently taking action against more than 30 companies in Germany and other EU countries for greenwashing and misleading consumers. In a widely noted decision regarding climate-related claims used by confectionery manufacturer Katjes, the German Federal Court of Justice found, inter alia, that already now vague, ambiguous climate claims such as “climate neutral” must be specified on the same medium to not mislead consumers.

German Draft and new Restrictions to be observed for Green and Sustainability Marketing

The ECGT rules include a set of specific restrictions aiming to make green claims reliable, comparable, and verifiable, and combatting greenwashing – thereby enabling consumers to make informed, sustainable choices. Enforcement will be subject to national standards, not European standards.

The German Draft law foresees to include the new ECGT rules in the German Act against Unfair competition, thus, making the specific greenwashing restrictions part of the general German enforcement regime against unfair competition which includes enforcement by competitors, consumer associations and competition organizations by way of claims for injunctive relief before German Civil Courts. In practice, this is done vigorously already under the general prohibition of misleading commercial practices as private enforcement actions present a highly efficient possibility of obtaining ex parte preliminary injunction orders within days, which are immediately enforceable even if appealed.

Therefore, businesses are well advised to prepare for aligning their green and sustainability marketing practices with the new restrictions provided for in the ECGT Directive:

1. Ban on self-certified sustainability labels

Sustainability labels promoting environmental and/or social benefits must be based on a third-party verified certification system or established by a public authority. This prohibition of private sustainability labels is particularly relevant for sectors such as chemicals and personal care products, food, clothing, and paper, where sustainability labels are commonly used in marketing. The certification scheme must be open under transparent, fair, and non-discriminatory terms which have to be publicly available. In addition, the scheme user’s compliance with the requirements needs to be monitored by an independent third party in an objective procedure and the scheme terms must include procedures for dealing with non-compliance.

2. Specification of generic environmental claims

Generic environmental claims such as “climate-friendly” or “green” must be clearly and prominently specified on the same medium (e.g. on the product packaging) or recognized excellent environmental performance must be demonstrated e.g. by the EU Ecolabel. In this context, the German draft law clarifies: Trademarks, brand names, or logos may also constitute generic environmental claims requiring specification on the same medium. The level of detail required for such specification must be assessed on a case-by-case basis taking into account the overall impression and the characteristics of the medium, for example the space available on the product packaging.

3. Verification requirement for forward looking environmental claims

Under the ECGT Directive additional legal requirements apply to environmental claims related to future environmental performance (e.g. “climate-neutral by 2030/50”): Such claims require a detailed and realistic implementation plan, including measurable and time-bound targets, and should be regularly verified by an independent third-party expert. The commitments and targets supporting the claim must be clear, objective, verifiable, and publicly available (e.g. by using a QR code). The German Draft law explicitly limits the requirements to forward-looking environmental claims facing consumers. This clarification reflects a strict 1:1 transposition of the ECGT rules and responds to criticism from business and industry associations regarding the earlier discussion draft, which had implied an extension to B2B claims. In practice, this means that forward looking environmental claims made in B2B communications are not subject to the enhanced substantiation and verification requirements.

4. Ban on offset-based climate claims

The ECGT Directive introduces stringent requirements for advertising claims related to CO₂ savings: Companies will have to refrain from marketing products as “climate neutral” or “carbon neutral” if such claims are based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions. However, businesses may still communicate actual CO₂ savings, provided these claims are based on the actual lifecycle impact of the product – including its production, usage, and disposal – and not on emissions offset outside the product’s value chain. Notably, companies remain permitted to promote their investments in environmental initiatives, such as carbon credit projects, as long as the information is presented transparently, accurately, and in full compliance with EU law. Therefore, it will become increasingly important for companies to provide clear and detailed information on how CO₂ reductions are achieved and calculated.

5. Clarification required regarding the scope of the environmental claim

Companies will need to clarify whether claimed environmental benefits relate to the entire product or business or only parts thereof. Environmental claims – whether explicit or implied – about the entire product or the entire business must not be made if they can only be substantiated for a certain aspect of the product or a specific (unrepresentative) business segment. For example, claiming that a product is “made with recycled material” would be misleading if, in reality, only the packaging is made of recycled material, while the rest of the product is not.

6. Prohibition of highlighting compliance with legal requirements

Presenting mandatory legal requirements that apply to all products within the relevant product category as a distinctive feature of a specific offer will also be prohibited under the ECGT. The reason behind this is that consumers shall not be misled as to which companies go beyond what is required by law (e.g. by the EU Deforestation Regulation). This prohibition may apply, for example, where a product is advertised as free from a particular chemical substance although the use of that substance is already banned by law for the relevant product category within the EU. Conversely, businesses may communicate that a product meets certain mandatory standards, provided they make sufficiently clear that such compliance is not being highlighted as a unique selling point.

Next steps and recommendations for businesses

The German Draft law transposing the ECGT is to be submitted to the Parliament and the Federal Council for parliamentary deliberation. The law is expected to be adopted by early 2026, in time to meet the EU’s transposition deadline of 27 March 2026.

However, until then, certain requirements are already relevant under the existing general prohibition of misleading commercial practices, such as the obligation to provide clarifying information on the same medium.

Due to the full harmonization approach of the ECGT Directive, member states have limited discretion when transposing the new rules in B2C context, where a strict 1:1 transposition is expected – as illustrated by the German Draft. By contrast, for B2B communications, the ECGT requirements do – at least – not apply directly. However, business-facing green and sustainability marketing practices remain subject to the general prohibition of misleading commercial practices under existing consumer protection and competition law.

Therefore, businesses across the EU are well advised to take early action to prepare for ECGT compliance, especially given the significant lead time required for specific implementation measures such as label changes. Currently, no transitional provisions have been established. Whether national legislators will ultimately grant companies extended sell-off periods, as recently recommended by the German Economic Committee, remains to be seen. Companies should, therefore, start reviewing and updating product descriptions, labels, packaging, and advertising as well as developing implementation plans for future environmental targets, sustainability strategies and programs.

Authored by Christiane Alpers and Cynthia Staiger.