EU Sustainability Claims Rules 2026: Our perspective on the EmpCo Directive and what it means for businesses

From 27 September 2026, new EU rules on sustainability claims and sustainability labels will apply across the European Union. The rules are part of the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (EmpCo), which aims to strengthen consumer protection against misleading environmental claims and improve the information available to consumers.

We believe that is a good thing. Consumers increasingly want to make more sustainable choices, but they can only do that if they understand and trust the information companies give them. At the same time, businesses are navigating an increasingly complex landscape of sustainability data, regulation and communication.

Take something as simple as a chocolate bar. It might carry a sustainability label, a claim about responsible cocoa, a statement about lower emissions, a company sustainability program or a logo relating to responsible packaging. Will it actually be easier for a consumer to choose the more sustainable chocolate?

That is the question behind the EU's Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (EmpCo). The Directive strengthens consumer protection against misleading sustainability claims and aims to improve the information available to consumers. From our perpective, it’s not about the question “What claims does EmpCo prohibit?” But: “How can companies communicate their sustainability performance more credibly?”

What is changing with the EU sustainability claims rules?

The new EU sustainability claims rules put greater emphasis on claims being clear, specific and properly substantiated. They also introduce restrictions around certain generic environmental claims and sustainability labels. Sustainability labels, for example, need to be based on an appropriate certification scheme or established by public authorities.

But the practical question for companies is not simply whether a particular word is allowed. Consider some of the claims businesses use every day:

“Sustainable” or “environmentally friendly.” What exactly is the environmental benefit? Is the claim about emissions, materials, biodiversity, water or something else?

“30% lower emissions.” Compared with what? Calculated how? Over which period? And does the evidence actually relate to the product being advertised?

“Our company is sustainable.” Does the evidence support a claim about the whole company, or only one product, ingredient, process or site?

“We will be climate neutral by 2030.” That is a future ambition, not a current achievement. Is the target concrete, measurable and supported by a credible plan?

A sustainability label or logo. What does it actually certify? Who runs the scheme? And could the way it is presented create a broader impression than the certification supports?

27 September is a checkpoint for EmpCo, not the starting line

The new EU sustainability claims rules are not a sudden new responsibility for companies. Companies operating in different markets across Europe have already been expected to make sustainability claims accurately and support them with evidence. What EmpCo does is sharpen the regulatory framework around several of these practices.  

EmpCo is an EU Directive, but it is implemented through national legislation and enforcement. So companies operating across Europe also need to understand how the rules are implemented and enforced in the markets where they operate.

How is the EmpCo Directive implemented in EU Member States?

The Directive is transposed into national legislation and enforced by national authorities.That means the practical implications can differ between markets, particularly when it comes to regulatory guidance and enforcement. Take the Netherlands. The Dutch implementation law has been adopted and ACM is responsible for enforcement. ACM has also updated its guidance on sustainability claims in light of the new European rules.

Just across the border in Belgium, EmpCo has been transposed into its Code of Economic Law, with the new rules applying from 27 September to B2C commercial practices. The Belgian legislation reinforces the existing consumer-protection framework while adding the new EmpCo requirements. At the Belgian regulatory level FOD Economie has introduced a six-month grace period for administrative enforcement of the EmpCo rules, until 27 March 2027. Companies are still legally required and liable to comply with the rules during this period, however, administrative enforcement is temporarily postponed.

For companies operating across multiple European markets, this matters. They need to understand how the EU sustainability claims rules have been implemented and how they are interpreted in the countries where their claims are being used. A multinational company may have one global sustainability campaign, but a claim about it can end up being exposed to different national regulatory environments.

The useful question to ask should therefore not simply be: “What does EmpCo say?” It is: “Where do our current sustainability claims stand against the rules and guidance in the markets where we operate?”

Our perspective: Don't just ask whether a sustainability claim is compliant

Rather than asking  “Can we still say this?”, we believe companies can take a more useful approach: “What can we credibly say about the sustainability work we are actually doing?”

Sustainability claims sit somewhere between sustainability, marketing, communications, product, procurement and legal. Your sustainability team may have robust emissions data. Procurement may have evidence about responsible sourcing. Marketing turns that information into a campaign. Legal reviews the wording.

If these functions are not connected, the problem may not be the underlying sustainability performance. It may be the translation of that performance into consumer-facing communication. This is also why we see greenwashing risk as more than a question of deliberately misleading statements. It can arise when a claim is broader than the evidence, when important context is missing, or when visuals and labels create an impression that goes beyond what the company can substantiate.

And there is evidence that this is needed. A recent study of 3,574 companies making climate claims found that 96% exhibited at least one indicator associated with greenwashing risk. Importantly, that does not mean that 96% were greenwashing. It means that almost all companies in the study had at least one red flag that could weaken the credibility of their climate claims including issues such as missing Scope 3 coverage, questionable use of offsets or lack of interim targets.

The answer is not necessarily to say less. Companies should look not only at their claims, but also at the process behind those claims.

How should companies approach the new EU EmpCo Directivec?

Start with a good old-fashioned sanity check:

1. Inventory
Where are you making - or planning to make - sustainability claims? Packaging, websites, advertising, product names, labels, social media, sales materials...?

2. Check your markets
Where are these claims being used? If you operate across several European markets, have you checked the relevant national implementation and guidance?

3. Challenge the wording
What exactly are you claiming? And what will a consumer understand from the words and the visuals together?

4. Check the evidence
Can you substantiate the claim? Is the evidence relevant, robust and up to date?

5. Check the scope
Does the evidence support the claim about the whole product or company  or only one part of it?

6. Check the process
Who owns sustainability claims internally? Who checks them? Where is the evidence kept? And what happens when a claim is no longer accurate?

Credibility is not the same as sustainability impact

There is one distinction we think is particularly important. EmpCo can make sustainability claims more credible. It cannot make a business more sustainable.  

Better claims do not automatically reduce emissions, eliminate deforestation or improve farmer incomes. Those things require changes to the underlying business. But better sustainability communication can help consumers understand which companies are actually making progress and what that progress means.

That is where we see the opportunity in EmpCo. Rather than asking “What can we no longer say?”, companies should be asking: “What can we credibly say about the sustainability work we are actually doing?”. That change takes sustainability claims from a compliance exercise to a question of transparency and trust.

How TheRockGroup helps companies navigate EU sustainability claims rules

At TheRockGroup, we have helped companies work through sustainability claims and the evidence behind them.Our approach is deliberately practical: a down-to-earth walkthrough of what you are saying, what sits behind it, where the gaps are and what needs attention.

We look at the claim itself, the evidence supporting it, the consumer interpretation and the internal process behind it. The aim is not to produce a lengthy legal memo, but to give your team a clear picture of where it stands and what it can do next.

If your organisation is reviewing its sustainability claims ahead of the new EU rules and national transposition in your markets, get in touch with us for a practical sustainability claims sanity check.