EU Commission Pushes for Transposition of the EmpCo Directive on Environmental Claims

On May 28, 2026, the European Commission sent a formal notice to 20 Member States, initiating an infringement procedure for failure to transpose Directive (EU) 2024/825 of February 2, 2024 in time. The Directive, which focuses on “empowering consumers for the green transition through better protection against unfair practices and through better information” (the "EmpCo Directive"), was adopted on February 2, 2024. It should have been transposed by March 27, 2026, but as of late May, 20 EU Member States have failed to meet the deadline.

The stated purpose of the EmpCo Directive is to limit greenwashing and ensure consumers are provided with clear, relevant, and reliable information with respect to the environmental or social characteristics or circularity aspects of products or services. The Directive broadly defines “environmental claims” to include all types of media in the context of commercial communication for a product, a product category, a brand or a company. It requires substantiating environmental claims and obtaining a third-party certification for voluntary sustainability labels. 

While some EU Members have already transposed the Directive, such as Germany with amendments to the Act against Unfair Competition ("UWG"), others are running late with the final adoption of the transposition act, such as France with the “DDAUE” Bill still pending before the Assemblée Nationale.  Further to the formal notice sent on May 28, the Member States now have two months to respond and notify the Commission of their transposition measures. The European Commission wants to ensure that all Member States will be in a position to start implementing the EmpCo Directive as of September 27, 2026.