From 27 September 2026, the provisions introduced by Legislative Decree No. 30 of 20 February 2026, transposing Directive (EU) 2024/825, known as the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (EmpCo) Directive, will become applicable in Italy. The legislation aims to strengthen consumer protection and combat greenwashing by introducing stricter rules for environmental claims about products and services.
The new provisions apply to all businesses operating in the B2C market and cover packaging, labels, websites, catalogues, advertising and, more generally, all forms of commercial communication directed at consumers.
What Is the Empowering Consumers Directive?
Directive (EU) 2024/825 is one of the tools the European Union uses to promote a transition towards more sustainable consumption patterns. Its aim is to ensure that consumers can make informed choices based on reliable, verifiable, and comparable environmental information, reducing the risk of misleading messages or claims that are not adequately supported by evidence.
The Directive introduces a broader definition of “green claims”, covering any message, symbol, image, label or statement that asserts or implies that a product, packaging, brand or company has a positive environmental impact, is less harmful than equivalent alternatives, or has improved its environmental performance over time.
The underlying principle is that environmental claims must be clear, specific, and unambiguous, and must be supported by adequate, verifiable evidence. It is not only the ability to substantiate a claim that matters, but also how it is communicated and perceived by consumers.
Stop to Generic Environmental Claims
One of the key changes concerns so-called generic environmental claims, meaning expressions that suggest general environmental superiority without providing specific, verifiable information. Terms such as “green”, “eco-friendly”, “sustainable”, “environmentally friendly” and similar wording can no longer be used as mere promotional slogans. The legislation restricts the use of generic environmental claims that are not accompanied by adequate evidence to substantiate their meaning and scope.
For businesses, it is therefore essential to use specific, measurable statements supported by documented evidence. For example, communications that describe a product’s or packaging’s environmental characteristics in concrete terms are more consistent with the new approach. These may include the presence of recycled materials, a quantified reduction in environmental impacts, or the recyclability of packaging within the available waste collection systems.
Stricter Controls on Environmental Labels and Symbols
The Directive also introduces new rules for sustainability labels and symbols used to communicate environmental benefits.
In particular, the display of sustainability labels that are not based on recognised certification schemes or established by public authorities is prohibited. The aim is to limit the proliferation of self-declared labels and symbols that may confuse consumers and undermine the comparability of environmental information.
Companies will therefore need to carefully verify the compliance of the sustainability labels, logos, and environmental symbols used in their communications.
Beware of Climate Claims
The legislation also introduces provisions to ensure greater transparency and accuracy in claims relating to greenhouse gas emissions. The Directive restricts the use of statements such as “carbon neutral”, “climate neutral”, “zero climate impact” and equivalent expressions when these results are achieved solely through greenhouse gas emission offsetting mechanisms.
No Exaggerating or Overstating Limited Environmental Benefits
The new provisions also address how environmental information is presented. It will no longer be possible to attribute environmental benefits to an entire product or package when they apply only to one component or a specific stage of its life cycle. Similarly, businesses will not be able to present compliance with existing legal requirements as a distinctive feature of their offering.
Implications for Businesses
The entry into application of the legislation requires companies to thoroughly review their environmental communications.
Packaging, etichette, campagne pubblicitarie, siti internet, cataloghi, materiali promozionali e contenuti digitali dovranno essere riesaminati per assicurare che i claim utilizzati siano chiari, specifici, verificabili e supportati da adeguata documentazione. Sarà inoltre necessario rafforzare il coordinamento tra funzioni marketing, sostenibilità, affari regolatori e compliance, al fine di garantire processi efficaci di validazione delle informazioni ambientali.
A Key Issue for the Packaging Industry
Per il settore degli imballaggi, le nuove regole si inseriscono in un quadro normativo europeo sempre più orientato alla trasparenza e all’affidabilità delle informazioni ambientali. La corretta comunicazione delle caratteristiche degli imballaggi rappresenta infatti uno strumento essenziale per supportare scelte consapevoli dei consumatori e valorizzare in modo credibile gli investimenti delle imprese nell’economia circolare.
The implementation of the EmpCo Directive marks an important step towards clearer, better-documented, and more comparable environmental communication, where the credibility of information becomes a key element in the relationship between businesses and consumers.
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