![greenwashing](/sites/default/files/styles/ratio_1_1_medium/public/2026-08/iStock-1170287540.jpg.webp?h=ab9e11e5&itok=pIVeLAly) [\#Green claims](/en/news?topic%5B1870%5D=1870) [\#Sustainability](/en/news?topic%5B1871%5D=1871) [\#ESG](/en/news?topic%5B1138%5D=1138)# Is your brand ready for the EU's green claims deadline?

 10/08/2026 | Reading time: 3 minutes 

 

 ![Sven Leen](/sites/default/files/styles/ratio_1_1/public/2026-03/SLE%20-%20BLUE.png?h=2b560abb&itok=vBTd3P_p)

Sven Leën

Director Management Consulting

 

 [Contact](/en/contact) 

 

 

 

 

 
The environmental claims rules apply from 27 September 2026, but for anyone who uses sustainability-related claims on packaging, the practical deadline is already here. Three questions every consumer brand should be asking now.

 

 

 

 

The countdown is on. From 27 September 2026, Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition (EmpCo) changes how companies can communicate the environmental benefits of their products. Environmental claims made to consumers will face stricter requirements for clarity and substantiation. Non-compliance can lead to enforcement action, litigation and a loss of hard-won customer trust.

For many organisations, the real challenge is not awareness; it is readiness. Sustainability claims are scattered across packaging, websites, product pages, advertising and retail, and rarely sit within a single governance framework. Before the deadline, three questions are worth asking honestly.

## Can you substantiate every claim you make?

Generic terms such as "eco-friendly", "green" or "sustainable" face specific restrictions, as do sustainability labels that are not established by public authorities or based on a qualifying certification scheme. Product-level "carbon neutral" claims based on offsets outside the product's value chain will be prohibited. The first step is knowing which of your claims would stand up to scrutiny and which would not.

## Do you have the data and governance to support them?

Credible claims rest on appropriate evidence, which may include product footprints and documented methodologies, as well as a process that validates what gets published. Without that foundation, even well-intentioned messaging can create risk.

## Are your claims consistent across every customer touchpoint?

EmpCo turns sustainability communication from a marketing concern into a cross-functional challenge spanning sustainability, product, marketing, legal, operations and data. Claims that are accurate on the website but overstated on the pack, or vice versa, create exposure. Alignment is essential.

Answering these questions honestly shows you what needs to change. The harder question is how much time you have to make those changes. Here, many brands are working from the wrong date.

## The lead-time trap

Reviewing claims across a portfolio, gathering the evidence to substantiate or replace them, redesigning artwork, securing legal sign-off, and then printing and distributing new packaging is not a marketing sprint. It is a supply-chain cycle that can run for six to twelve months, before you account for stock already moving through distribution with the old design. For many brands, the effective deadline for deciding what needs to change is now.

## No automatic grandfathering

The Directive provides no general transition period beyond 27 September 2026. Its rules can therefore affect marketing and packaging still in use after the application date, even if they were designed, printed or shipped earlier. Enforcement authorities have indicated that they may take a phased, proportionate approach where genuine and specific old-stock difficulties arise, but companies are still expected to act in good time and in good faith.

## Practical corrections and their limits

For some legacy packaging, practical corrections such as stickers or supplementary information at the point of sale may be possible. These options can help, but are not ideal and do not replace a plan.

Readiness is not a last-minute task for marketing. It is a cross-functional programme spanning sustainability, product, packaging, legal, procurement and supply chain, with a critical path driven by your slowest production and distribution cycle.

## Move ahead

Two moves turn that programme into action.

- First, inventory every claim, label and visual across products and channels, and triage them by risk. You cannot plan what you have not mapped.
- Then sequence the work so the highest-risk, longest-lead items, packaging carrying prohibited claims, move first, while quicker digital fixes follow behind.

Organisations that act early will be better placed to reduce risk and build customer trust through credible sustainability communication. In a market where green claims face increasing scrutiny, that trust can become a genuine competitive advantage.

 

### Preparing for the EU’s new rules on environmental claims

 [ Read more  ](https://www.moore.be/en/preparing-for-the-eus-new-rules-on-environmental-claims) 

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 [  ![](/sites/default/files/styles/ratio_1_1/public/2026-03/SLE%20-%20BLUE.png?h=2b560abb&itok=vBTd3P_p)  

### Sven Leën

Director Management Consulting

 

 

  ](/en/contact) 

 [  ![](/sites/default/files/styles/ratio_1_1/public/2026-08/Untitled%20design%20%288%29.png?h=9d6003c6&itok=vY8cn_Vs)  

### Thomas de Bassompierre

Senior Manager | Management Consulting

 

 

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