Introduction
Over the past decade, the EU has implemented stricter sustainability requirements for organisations, driven by policies like the European Green Deal. While many organisations now adopt environmentally friendly practices, greenwashing remains a significant issue.
European Commission reports reveal that 53% of green claims in the EU are vague or misleading, and 40% lack evidence. Loose legislation and unclear standards exacerbate the problem by creating a grey area, leaving room for interpretation, and thus making it difficult for regulators to address potential breaches of false environmental claims. To address this, the Commission proposed the Green Claims Directive in March 2023. This new Directive aims to set clear and enforceable standards for environmental claims, ensuring that consumers can trust the sustainability claims made by businesses.
Acknowledging the need for clear standards, Reusable Transport Packaging (RPE) advocates for stricter criteria across the packaging industry to prevent misleading environmental claims.
Ready to understand the impact of the Green Claims Directive on the reusable transport packaging sector? Dive into our blog post for more insights!
Understanding the EU Green Claims Directive
The Green Claims proposal is designed to complement the 2022 Greenwashing Directive. These initiatives empower consumers in the green transition by offering better protection against unfair practices and improving information transparency.
Difference Greenwashing Directive and the Green Claims Directive
While the Green Claims Directive focuses on substantiating environmental claims, the Greenwashing Directive takes a wider approach. It aims to prohibit misleading sustainability claims across both environmental and social aspects, including issues like fair trade and forced labour.
Together, these directives establish a comprehensive framework for all sustainability claims within the EU, ensuring a unified approach to combatting deceptive marketing practices. The overarching goal is to promote greater trust and reliability in green and sustainable products.
But what are the key elements of the new Green Claims Directive proposal?
The Green Claims Directive
The Green Claims Directive aims to establish a standardised methodology for verifying the environmental impact of products, services, and companies. Key aspects of the proposal include:
- Scope: The Directive regulates explicit – written or oral text – environmental claims and labels used by companies to market their environmental friendliness. It addresses both current and future environmental labelling schemes, whether public or private. The approach makes a clear distinction between explicit environmental claims and environmental labels outlining different obligations and requirements for each.
- Evidence-based claims: Companies must back their environmental claims and labels with clear criteria and up-to-date scientific evidence. These claims and labels should be straightforward and specify the environmental characteristics they address, such as durability or recyclability.
- Verification and simplified procedure: The proposal mandates that independent third-party experts verify all explicit environmental claims and labels before publication. However, a simplified procedure allows certain claims to bypass this verification if companies complete a technical document beforehand. For instance, existing national or regional public labelling schemes and new schemes regulated by EU or national law can be exempt from third-party verification if they meet EU standards.
- Climate-based claims: The proposal covers climate-based claims involving carbon credits. Companies must provide detailed information about carbon credits, including type, quantity, and permanence. It distinguishes between contribution claims (credits for climate action) and offset claims (credits to balance emissions).
By establishing such guidelines, the Green Claims Directive seeks to ensure that environmental claims are credible, transparent, and scientifically validated, fostering greater consumer trust, and promoting genuine sustainability efforts.
Green Claims and Reusable Transport Packaging
Impact on Reusable Transport Packaging
The Green Claims Directive offers reusable packaging operators an opportunity to promote a circular economy that will impact their operations. To comply with the new standards for verifying environmental claims and labels, RTP operators must adapt their practices:
- Increased scrutiny of environmental claims: RTP operators making environmental claims about their packaging, such as reusability or reduced carbon footprint, will face increased scrutiny. These claims must be substantiated with clear evidence and verified by third-party experts who will provide certificates of conformity. Operators, therefore, must collect and maintain data on material composition, production, transportation, cleaning, repair, and end-of-life management, and thoroughly review and audit current claims for necessary adjustments.
- Financial and operational challenges: Gathering detailed environmental data, conducting internal audits, and undergoing external verification can be costly. Implementing new processes and controls presents operational challenges, as environmental claims must be regularly reviewed and updated based on the latest scientific evidence and product lifecycle changes. Skilled and knowledgeable staff will be essential for this task.
Preparation for implementation
Once approved and published, Member States have 18 months to transpose the directive into their national laws and regulations. They must start enforcing these rules 24 months after the directive’s effective date.
Given this, RPE Members are now preparing for the implementation phase, demonstrating that RPE views genuine green claims as essential. Here are some key elements:
- Life Cycle Assessments and independent verification: Establishing a framework for collecting and structuring environmental data throughout the product lifecycle is essential for validating claims. RPE Members have begun this process through extensive certifications and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). For instance, they use Cradle-to-Cradle certification (C2C), which ensures that a product’s materials and components are designed for continuous repurposing or recycling. This certification is managed by an independent party overseeing everything from raw material sourcing to recycling. Additionally, RPE Members utilise Declarations of Conformity (DoC) to demonstrate, for example, that plastic containers are suitable for Food Contact Materials (FCMs).
- Green labelling: Labelling is crucial for both consumers and businesses to verify if products meet environmental standards. RPE Members often use labels on their reusable transport packaging, like pallets and containers, to highlight their cleanliness, reusability, and durability compared to single-use packaging.
RPE supports the Green Claims Directive
RPE enthusiastically supports the European Institutions in their mission to eliminate false environmental claims through this directive, which aligns with the industry’s mission to advance sustainability, improve transparency, and foster businesses and consumer confidence in reusable packaging solutions:
- Achieving sustainable goals: With stricter verification and evidence-based claims, reusable transport packaging can clearly be differentiated from less sustainable options. RPE is dedicated to contributing to the achievement of a greener Europe through close cooperation with European institutions. Reusable Transport Packaging has been demonstrated to be more environmental-friendly than single-use alternatives, as it effectively reduces packaging waste, and food waste and consumes significantly fewer resources. For in-depth studies and facts backing it up, have a look at our blog posts on the benefits of reusable transport packaging, and on reusable transport packaging within a circular economy.
- Creating consistency: RPE supports standardised methodologies for environmental claims and labels, ensuring consistency and backing them with clear criteria and up-to-date scientific evidence. This approach guarantees companies effectively communicate the specific environmental benefits of reusable transport packaging, such as enhanced durability, high hygienic and safety standards, and recyclability. Such clarity helps stakeholders, including customers, regulators, and partners, understand the true impact of these packaging solutions. Read our manifesto where we delve deeper into why we advocate for standardised methodology and why, for example, it is crucial to establish a clear waste hierarchy and a defined baseline for reusability.
- Promoting transparency: Transparency is a core value for RPE. By enhancing visibility and understanding, we not only facilitate more informed consumer choices but also drive industry-wide accountability and innovation. Transparency in packaging not only builds trust and credibility but also accelerates progress towards sustainable practices, ensuring that our sector advances in a responsible and impactful manner.
Concluding remarks
RPE stands behind the Green Claims Directive and its mission to bring transparency to environmental claims in the packaging industry. Through our ongoing efforts and advocacy, we are dedicated to promoting genuine sustainability and ensuring that reusable transport packaging is recognised for its true environmental benefits.