The European Commission has confirmed it will withdraw the Green Claims Directive, a key element of the EU Green Deal designed to curb greenwashing across the single market. This shift reflects growing political and corporate pressure to simplify regulatory frameworks, but raises concerns about consistency, accountability, and the future of business sustainability strategies.
What the Directive was designed to do
Introduced in 2023, the Green Claims Directive aimed to bring clarity and credibility to green marketing by setting EU-wide rules for voluntary claims. It would have required companies to back up phrases like “climate-neutral” or “eco-friendly” with scientific evidence and third-party verification, while banning the use of vague or offset-based labels without clear methodology.
This legislation emerged in response to research showing that over half of green claims in the EU were either misleading or lacked substantiation, even though around 75 percent of products in the market include such claims. The Directive promised harmonisation across member states and a higher standard for green communications.
Learn how to communicate sustainability and avoid the pitfalls of greenwashing
Political resistance and withdrawal rationale
The Commission’s decision to scrap the Directive follows lobbying by the European People’s Party (EPP), the European Parliament’s largest political group, and sectors such as hospitality and leisure. Critics argued that the legislation imposed unnecessary complexity, lacked a formal impact assessment, and posed disproportionate burdens on SMEs. This comes as part of a wider effort to reduce administrative load on businesses.
In other words, the Commission is targeting a 25 percent reduction in compliance burdens for large companies, and 35 percent for SMEs by 2029. The decision aligns with other proposed rollbacks, including watered-down requirements under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
It is important to keep in mind that without the Green Claims Directive, regulatory oversight will default to national laws. As a result, this will create inconsistencies for companies operating across the EU and weaken unified action on greenwashing. Many argue this could damage the EU’s credibility as a global leader in sustainable governance and undermine investor and consumer trust.
This lack of a common standard could also delay progress on transparent and evidence-based corporate communications. Moreover, it will make it that bit more challenging for businesses to align with ESG expectations and for consumers to make informed decisions.
Conclusion
In the absence of unified EU standards, the risk of fragmented compliance and inconsistent accountability will grow. This only places an even greater emphasis on internal integrity, capability, and clarity. Although regulatory frameworks may shift, stakeholder expectations remain firmly focused on credible, transparent, measurable action.
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