NATRUE, together with other thirteen non-profit associations, calls on the Council of the European Union to carefully consider the options for the establishment of a certain and practical framework under the Green Claims Directive. The goal is to guarantee clarity, predictability and legal certainty for all interested parties while simplifying and reducing the burden for traders.
Our associations remain fully committed to providing pertinent and trustworthy sustainability information to consumers. Informing consumers of a business’ or product’s sustainability profile is a considerable incentive for companies to pursue more sustainable solutions. It is a catalyst for driving innovation and investments, fostering the industry’s competitiveness in sustainability. We therefore support the goal of the Green Claims Directive, which will be key in setting clear rules for environmental claims, creating a level playing field among companies.
While we support the intention behind the introduction of the simplified procedure, we remain concerned by the Council’s proposed means, which risk creating 27 different approval systems. Therefore, we recommend:
- Including an immediate application of the simplified procedure for those claims that do not require to be substantiated through a full lifecycle assessment, as is the case for claims related to environmental aspects, and those claims whose assessment is based on methodologies that are widely recognised (e.g., ISO, OECD, PEF, EU Ecolabel).
- Avoiding mandating the European Commission to adopt secondary legislation specifying substantiation and communication requirements for each type of environmental claim. This would stretch Commission resources (with increased risk of delays) and result in a positive list, with negative consequences on new claims reflecting innovation.
- Avoiding the duplication of the documentation requirements for environmental claims whose substantiation is based on rules established by other EU legislation or for environmental claims based on awarded labels – ensuring that pre-existing well-recognised labels can receive speedier compliance recognition in relation to the requirements of the Directive.
An agile framework is essential to support the necessary industry investments to reach the ambitious EU climate and environmental goals, as well as ensure the prompt information of the consumer for more sustainable choices.
The letter can be read in full here
All NATRUE contributions are available here.