EU Green Claims Directive Nears; French Courts Enforce Prospectively

The EU's Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (GTD) becomes applicable across the bloc on September 27, 2026. It bans green claims based solely on carbon offsetting, regulates generic terms like "eco-friendly," and requires verifiable plans for future environmental performance commitments.

Enforcement is already active. A French court prospectively applied GTD principles to convict TotalEnergies for its "carbon neutrality by 2050" ambition, faulting a lack of transparency. Other French rulings have penalized Volvic for "carbon neutral" and "100% recycled" claims on packaging and fined SHEIN for unsubstantiated emissions-reduction assertions. Coordinated EU regulatory actions are also targeting airlines and energy companies over similar claims, signaling a low tolerance for "greenwashing." The UK's Competition and Markets Authority is pursuing a convergent path with its own guidance and the threat of turnover-based fines.

Companies should immediately audit all environmental marketing, substantiating every claim with verifiable evidence and removing generic or offsetting-based assertions, especially from product packaging. The approval process for such claims should now require joint sign-off from legal and sustainability teams to mitigate litigation and regulatory risk.