Can a company claim that its product or service is “environmentally friendly”, “carbon neutral” or “green” without further explanation? Not soon. The upcoming amendment based on the EU directive significantly tightens the rules for environmental marketing and is aimed directly at greenwashing. Companies will have to rethink not only advertising slogans, but often also the way they communicate their ESG activities.
The change will primarily affect companies that work with sustainability in their communication with customers. The new rules are aimed mainly at greenwashing, i.e. situations where claims about the environmental properties of a product, service or business create the impression that they are more environmentally friendly than they really are. This includes cases where a company emphasizes improvements in one environmental indicator, but at the same time conceals significant deterioration in other impacts.
Companies will therefore have to revise their websites, packaging, product sheets, advertising and other marketing communications. Labels such as “green”, “eco-friendly”, “sustainable” or “climate neutral” can no longer be used only as a marketing shortcut without a real basis. The claim will have to be specific, substantiate and must not give the impression that it refers to the entire product, service or company when in fact it covers only a partial aspect.
Increased attention should therefore be paid to the amendment especially by companies in the retail, e-commerce and consumer goods industries. Service providers who emphasize environmental benefits or sustainability goals in their communication should also pay attention.
The amendment expands the so-called black list of unfair commercial practices. This means that some acts will be prohibited automatically, without the need to examine their specific impact on consumer decision-making.
The use of sustainability labels that are not based on a certification scheme or have not been introduced by a public authority is to be prohibited. Likewise, it will not be possible to use generic environmental claims without demonstrating a significantly better environmental performance compared to the relevant legal requirements and common products or services in a given category, based on a transparent assessment of multiple environmental impacts over the life cycle.
Many companies today use their own internal labels such as “eco choice”, “green product” or “sustainable selection”. Such labels may be problematic if they are not based on a transparent certification system that meets legal requirements or if they are not a label introduced or approved by a public authority.
Claims about the climate or carbon neutrality of a product, service or company that are based solely or mainly on offsets will be particularly problematic. In principle, the new regulation does not allow such products or services to be presented as “carbon neutral” only on the basis of the purchase of offsets. The company will have to clearly distinguish between its own actual emission reductions and possible offsets and explain this information transparently.
In addition to these risky claims, the amendment also introduces a ban on presenting the legal requirements of a product as an environmental advantage. Specific and verifiable claims remain admissible.
The amendment also affects future environmental obligations. If a company claims to achieve climate neutrality or significantly reduce its environmental impact by a certain year, a general strategy or presentation in an ESG report will not be sufficient. Such a claim will have to be supported by a specific and credible plan that clearly defines: what exactly is to be achieved (e.g. for which products, operations or emissions), from what baseline, according to what measurement methodology, in what timeframe (including intermediate targets) and how progress will be continuously and independently verified.
In addition to greenwashing, the amendment also addresses the premature obsolescence of products. It explicitly prohibits certain practices related to the lifetime of products, reparability or software updates, which were already punishable to a certain extent today under the general prohibition of misleading business practices.
At the same time, consumers should receive more information before making a purchase. This will include, for example, information on the minimum period of provision of free updates for goods with digital elements, digital content or digital services, repairability or the availability of spare parts.
Violation of the new rules will not be just a formal offense. The main legal penalty is an administrative fine under the Consumer Protection Act, which can reach up to CZK 5 million for selected unfair business practices for one administrative offence. In the case of large-scale cross-border infringements with an EU dimension, EU rules provide for maximum fines of up to several percent of the trader’s annual turnover. In many cases, however, the reputational consequences can be even more serious. Publicly conducted greenwashing proceedings, media coverage of supervisory authority decisions or lawsuits by consumer organisations can damage the credibility of a brand significantly more than the fine itself.
According to the directive, the rules are to be applied from 27 September 2026. The first step should therefore be to audit all environmental claims and labels declaring sustainability that companies use in relation to consumers as soon as possible. From websites to packaging to advertising materials. For companies that have truly data-driven sustainability, the amendment may be an opportunity to differentiate themselves in the market. For others, it will mean the need to quickly reconfigure their own communication before it is dealt with by the supervisory authority.
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