Kilde › Guides › EU green claims rules 2026: the EmpCo …

EU green claims rules 2026: the EmpCo guide hub

Current to 21 August 2026 · updates land in the changelog.

From 27 September 2026, Directive (EU) 2024/825 (“EmpCo”) inserts twelve per-se banned practices into the EU's unfair-practices blacklist: generic environmental claims, offset-based neutrality claims, self-awarded sustainability badges, and seven durability/software practices. These guides map the whole regime — the law's own words, plain-language readings, and what to change — page by page.

Start here

• Green Claims Directive vs EmpCo — which is actually law? (the confusion that mis-aims most compliance budgets)
• Point 4a — generic claims and point 4c — offset neutrality: between them, most live copy.

The twelve banned practices

• Point 2a — Unbacked sustainability labels
• Point 4a — Generic environmental claims
• Point 4b — Whole-product and whole-business claims
• Point 4c — Offset-based neutrality claims
• Point 10a — Legal requirements marketed as distinction
• Point 23d — Hidden software-update downsides
• Point 23e — Cosmetic updates dressed as necessary
• Point 23f — Marketing around known planned obsolescence
• Point 23g — Unsubstantiated durability claims
• Point 23h — Repairability theatre
• Point 23i — Premature consumable replacement
• Point 23j — Third-party parts scare copy

Words on the blacklist — can you still say…

• “environmentally friendly”
• “eco-friendly”
• “green”
• “nature's friend”
• “ecological”
• “environmentally correct”
• “climate friendly”
• “gentle on the environment”
• “carbon friendly”
• “energy efficient”
• “biodegradable”
• “biobased”
• “sustainable”
• “conscious”
• “responsible”

Where every Member State stands (2026)

Measures communicated (18)	Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia
Not yet communicated (9)	Bulgaria, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

Member States must apply the measures from 27 September 2026 (Art 4(1)); the application date does not slide with late transposition.

What's free here — and what the pack adds

These guides (free)	The twelve banned practices verbatim with plain-language readings, the phrase blacklist word by word, and where all 27 Member States stand — dated and kept current.
The EU Green Claims Compliance Kit (US$190)	The execution layer: the claim register, the 13-pattern rewrite library, the substantiation-file structure, labels and certification decision aids, durability and guarantee texts, the edge-case FAQ, and the paid update tracker.

The guides carry the rules, dates and definitions — kept current, no signup. The pack carries the documents you would otherwise build from scratch. See the shape first: free 4-page sample (PDF) · full contents.

Quick answers

What changes for green marketing in the EU on 27 September 2026?

EmpCo's twelve new per-se banned practices start applying: generic environmental claims, offset-based neutrality claims and unbacked sustainability labels are banned in all circumstances, alongside seven durability and software-update practices.

Does this apply to non-EU companies?

Yes, when marketing to EU consumers — the UCPD regime attaches to the commercial practice in the EU market, not to where the trader is established.

General information and document templates only — not legal advice, and no clearance opinions. EmpCo binds traders through national transposition: wording and enforcement vary across the 27 Member States, and everything on this page keys to the directive baseline. Sources are Directive (EU) 2024/825 (CELEX 32024L0825) and our audited kit research. © 2026 Kilde.

Built by Kilde's founder, a practising attorney admitted to a US state bar (not an EU or Hong Kong admission). About · Verification log · Refunds · Terms · Privacy · esau@trykilde.com