Empowering Consumers Directive: What the New EU Rules Mean for Environmental Claims

This article reflects the rules applicable from 27 September 2026 and incorporates the European Commission’s latest implementation guidance. Last updated: September 2026.

The new rules introduced by the Empowering Consumers Directive apply across the European Union since 27 September 2026.

The Directive introduces new restrictions on how environmental, social and product-related claims are communicated to consumers, including rules on sustainability labels, generic environmental claims, durability, reparability and practices associated with early obsolescence.

Unlike EU regulations that establish requirements for products themselves, the Empowering Consumers Directive amends consumer protection law and focuses on how products and their characteristics are presented to consumers before, during and after a purchase.

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What the Empowering Consumers Directive actually does

The Empowering Consumers Directive, adopted in February 2024, updates two core pieces of EU consumer law:

Rather than replacing these rules, the new directive adds specific provisions to address issues that have become common in today’s markets, particularly around environmental and product-related claims.

In practice, the new rules address practices including:

• generic environmental claims that cannot be supported by recognised excellent environmental performance;
• sustainability labels that are not based on a certification scheme or established by an EU public authority;
• environmental claims about an entire product or business when they concern only a specific aspect;
• claims that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive greenhouse-gas impact when based on carbon offsetting;
• future environmental performance claims that are not supported by clear, objective, publicly available and verifiable commitments;
• misleading information about durability, reparability, software updates and practices associated with early obsolescence;
• presenting requirements imposed by law as a distinctive feature of a product or business.

Several of these practices have been added to the EU list of commercial practices prohibited in all circumstances under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.

The European Commission has also published a dedicated Questions & Answers document covering environmental claims, sustainability labels, carbon-neutrality claims, future environmental commitments, durability and reparability.

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How this directive is different from other EU rules

Many recent EU initiatives regulate how products are designed, produced, or documented, introducing requirements related to durability, repair, circularity, or product information systems. The Empowering Consumers Directive works differently.

Instead of regulating the product itself, it regulates how product characteristics are communicated to consumers. Claims about durability, reparability, recyclability, or environmental attributes must be clear, verifiable, and not misleading. The directive therefore does not introduce new product data requirements. It regulates how product information is presented in the market, bringing sustainability-related communication directly under EU consumer protection law.

Within the broader EU transparency framework, this directive plays a specific role. While other regulations focus on product design, lifecycle requirements, or circularity systems, the Empowering Consumers Directive focuses on the consumer interface of that system, ensuring that the information consumers see about products is clear and reliable.

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Timeline and application

The Empowering Consumers Directive entered into force on 26 March 2024. Member States were required to adopt and publish their national transposition measures by 27 March 2026 and to apply them from 27 September 2026.

The rules are therefore now applicable through the national legislation adopted by Member States. Enforcement remains the responsibility of national competent authorities and courts.

For companies operating in the EU market, product communication is now subject to more specific requirements. Environmental and product-related claims must be supported by reliable information and appropriate evidence.

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What happens to products already on the market?

The new provisions also apply to environmental claims and sustainability labels associated with products manufactured, ordered, distributed or placed on retailers’ shelves before 27 September 2026.

Existing stock is not automatically exempt. Companies are expected to make reasonable and proportionate efforts to correct non-compliant claims, including through changes to digital content, stickers, supplementary information at the point of sale or other appropriate measures.

The Consumer Protection Cooperation Network’s common understanding on old stock allows national authorities to consider genuine transitional difficulties on a case-by-case basis. Factors may include packaging cycles, stock volumes, previous purchase orders, supply-chain dependencies, product shelf life and the proportionality of corrective measures. This guidance does not create a general exemption or fixed transition period.

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Product claims and Digital Product Passports

As environmental and product-related claims fall under stricter consumer protection rules, companies need to connect their communications with consistent product data and appropriate supporting evidence.

Digital Product Passports can support this process by connecting products with structured information about materials, origin, durability, care or repair. They can help compliance and marketing teams use consistent product-level information across consumer touchpoints.

A DPP does not, by itself, verify a claim or guarantee compliance with the Empowering Consumers Directive. The reliability of the communication still depends on the quality of the underlying data, the evidence supporting it and the way the claim is presented to consumers.

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What organisations should review now

Organisations should now review:

• environmental and social claims used on product pages, packaging, labels and advertising;
• generic terms such as “green”, “sustainable”, “eco-friendly” or “climate neutral”;
• sustainability labels and the schemes on which they are based;
• durability, repairability and product-lifetime statements;
• future environmental targets communicated to consumers;
• carbon-neutrality claims based on offsetting;
• claims applied to existing stock and products already in distribution;
• the evidence, ownership and approval process behind each consumer-facing claim.

Renoon helps companies connect product legislation, product data, supporting evidence and consumer-facing information within one compliance system.

Explore Renoon’s advisory services or talk to our team about structuring reliable product information for DPP and consumer compliance requirements.