4.1.1.3. Application of Article 6 of the UCPD to environmental claims

Article 6 of the UCPD implies that consumers must be able to trust environmental claims put forward by traders. Consequently, in order not to be misleading, environmental claims must be truthful, not contain false information and be presented in a clear specific, unambiguous and accurate manner. An environmental claim can be misleading if it ‘ contains false information and is therefore untruthful ’ in relation to one of the elements listed in Article 6(1)(a) to (g). An environmental claim can also be misleading if it ‘ deceives or is likely to deceive the average consumer, even if the information is factually correct ’ in respect of the items referred to in Article 6(1)(a) to (g). Accordingly, also the imagery and overall product presentation (i.e. layout, choice of colours, images, pictures, sounds, symbols or labels), should be a truthful and accurate representation of the scale of the environmental benefit, and should not overstate the benefit achieved. Implicit claims may, depending on the circumstances of the case, include the use of images (e.g. trees, rainforests, water, animals) and colours (e.g. blue or green backgrounds or text) that are associated with environmental sustainability. Environmental claims are likely to be misleading if they consist of vague and general statements of environmental benefits without appropriate substantiation of the benefit and without indication of the relevant aspect of the product the claim refers to. Examples of such claims are ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘eco-friendly’, ‘eco’, ‘green’, ‘nature’s friend’, ‘ecological’, ‘environmentally correct’, ‘climate friendly’, ‘gentle on the environment’, ‘pollutant free’, ‘biodegradable’, ‘zero emissions’, ‘carbon friendly’, ‘reduced CO2 emissions’‘carbon neutral’, ‘climate neutral’ and even the broader claims of ‘conscious’ and ‘responsible’. Such unsubstantiated claims are likely to, in some cases, convey the impression to the consumers that a product or an activity of a trader has no negative impact or only a positive impact on the environment. They could fall under Article 6(1)(a) and 6(1)(b) UCPD if they are likely to deceive the average consumers and to cause them to take a transactional decision they would not have taken otherwise. Since terms such as ‘conscious’ and ‘responsible’ can refer to numerous aspects, including social or economic conditions, such claims could be considered misleading even if they are qualified, since they are vague and ambiguous. If vague and ambiguous claims are used, the qualifications need to be sufficiently detailed so that the claim cannot be understood in any other way than the way the trader intended. Claims should be reassessed and updated as necessary, in view of technological developments, and the emergence of comparable products or other circumstances that may affect the accuracy or relevance of the claim. Environmental claims should not relate to an improvement compared to a product from the same trader or a competitor that is no longer available on the market or the trader no longer sells to consumers, unless this improvement is significant and recent. If a trader uses environmental statements in its company name, brand name, product name etc., and the name is used for marketing purposes, such marketing is subject to the same substantiation requirements as those which apply to other environmental claims in marketing communications, unless the company can prove that this name has no environmental connotation or existed already before. However, in order to be contrary to the UCPD, a name used in marketing will need to mislead the average consumers and be likely to cause them to take a transactional decision that they would not have taken otherwise. When assessing an environmental claim, the product’s main environmental impacts over its lifecycle, including its supply chain, are relevant. An environmental claim should relate to aspects that are significant in terms of the product’s environmental impact. Highly polluting industries should ensure that their environmental claims are accurate in a sense of being relative, e.g. ‘less harmful for the environment’ instead of ‘environmentally friendly’ (see also section 4.1.1.7 on comparative environmental claims). This enables the average consumer to better understand the relative impact of the product. An environmental claim should in any case relate to aspects that are significant in terms of the product’s total environmental impacts over its life cycle. Highly polluting industries may be required by courts or authorities to make it clear to the consumer in their environmental claims that the product has an overall negative impact on the environment. Moreover, claims should be clear and unambiguous regarding which aspect of the product or its life cycle they refer to (308). If a trader makes an environmental claim by highlighting just one of several impacts the product has on the environment, the claim could be misleading within the meaning of Article 6 or 7 of the UCPD. Furthermore, traders should not distort claims about the composition of the product (including raw materials), or its use, manufacturing process, transport or end-of-life impacts, for example by unduly emphasising the importance of positive aspects, which are in reality only marginal or whereas the overall environmental impact resulting from the product’s life cycle is negative. The benefit claimed should not result in an undue transfer of impacts, i.e. the creation or increase of other negative environmental impacts at other stages of the product’s life cycle should be avoided, unless the total net environmental benefit has been significantly improved, for example according to a life-cycle assessment and recognised or generally accepted methods applicable to the relevant product type and should be third-party verified. Codes of conduct may include voluntary commitments in relation to environmental protection or ‘green behaviour’. An average consumer would expect such code signatories to sell products which comply with that code. A trader who has announced to be bound but does not comply with such a code may be considered to be misleading if the claimed adherence to the code affects or is likely to affect the consumers’ transactional decision. This situation is covered by Article 6(2)(b) UCPD. Certain misleading commercial practices in relation to codes of conduct are considered unfair per se under Annex I to the UCPD (see section 4.1.1.6). An average consumer is not expected to know the meaning or significance of various public and private codes of conduct, labelling schemes, certificates or logos. Traders should inform consumers about these elements and the relevant characteristics in relation to the claim in question, with a reference to where all information about the certification can be found, including whether the certification is done by a third party or not. Traders should also ensure that consumers have the possibility to receive additional information in an accessible and clear manner, e.g. through a link or an information section in the vicinity of the claim. For example, traders should inform consumers about the private certification schemes whose logos they are displaying. In general, it is not enough to only briefly refer to a third-party certification. If a trader or industry chooses to use private labelling schemes, symbols or certificates for marketing purposes, they must only be applied to the products/services or traders which meet the criteria set to qualify for their use. The criteria should demonstrate clear environmental benefits compared with competing products or traders and should be easily publicly accessible. Otherwise, such labelling is likely to be misleading. The labelling may have to be further qualified, so that the meaning and the most relevant criteria of the labelling is highlighted (e.g. highlight if the use of water is the most relevant criterion for a given product). Moreover, traders should consider third party verification to ensure the credibility and relevance of the label. The private nature of the label (if that is the case) and its meaning or significance must also be made clear to the consumer. Finally, such labels must not be capable of being confused with other labels, including, for example, labels of publicly run labelling schemes or schemes of competitors.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.