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From September 2026, the EmpCo Directive will fundamentally change how companies can communicate their sustainability efforts. Many claims that are common today will no longer be permitted in the future or will need to be backed by specific evidence.
With our free EmpCo Checklist, you can assess in just a few minutes whether your environmental claims meet the new requirements.
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Our checklist walks you systematically through the critical areas and helps you assess your existing claims.
Risk check: Reviews your green claims against the EmpCo Directive.
Evidence check: Identifies which data or certifications your claims require.
Claim optimization: Rewrites the claim to be more specific and EmpCo compliant.
Claim development: Develops new claims you can communicate in an EmpCo-compliant way.
Request the free EmpCo checklist now and get:
The 5-minute self-test
A risk assessment of your green claims
Practical examples of EmpCo-compliant communication
The transition period is running. Companies that fail to adapt their communication in time risk:
Warnings and fines as enforcement becomes stricter
Reputational damage following public criticism of greenwashing
Loss of trust among increasingly critical consumers
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The sooner you review your claims, the more time you have to make well-founded adjustments.
Want to know which specific claims your company needs to revise now? Use our EmpCo Check to get an automated analysis of the current claims on your website.
Vague green claims will no longer be permitted from September onwards. The EmpCo Directive particularly addresses:
The risk: From 2026, anyone advertising with terms like “plastic-free”, “recyclable”, “green”, or “environmentally friendly” must back these claims up with transparent, verifiable evidence. Generic statements such as “made from recycled material” will no longer be enough unless the underlying standard and the independent verification behind it are clearly stated.
The risk: Promoting a product as “plastic-neutral” or “waste-compensated” can lead to legal warnings if the communication suggests to consumers that the product itself leaves no waste behind. Compensation must not be disguised as the product having a “zero impact” – it must be transparently declared as a financial contribution (Contribution Claim).
The risk: Future promises such as “plastic-free packaging by 2030” or “fully circular by 2028” are illegal without a detailed, publicly accessible implementation plan. They require a roadmap with time-bound milestones and independent third-party verification.
The risk: Self-designed badges such as “Ocean Friendly”, “Plastic Saver” or in-house sustainability seals that are not awarded and monitored by an official, transparent and independent certification system are expressly prohibited under EmpCo.
The new directive rewards precision and penalizes vague claims. The legally compliant path for your marketing is what's known as Contribution Claims. With everwave, you communicate credible impact instead of empty phrases.
Certified impact: With every euro, we verifiably remove 1 kg of waste from the environment. Externally audited and transparently trackable.
Authentic marketing material: You get high-resolution image and video material from our cleanups around the world for your campaigns – the strongest proof for your customers.
Credible communication: Turn risky ”climate neutral” claims into transparent impact statements that hold up under strict EmpCo requirements.
It’s an EU directive that has been transposed into national law and will apply from September 2026. Directive (EU) 2024/825 (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition) prohibits vague and unsubstantiated environmental claims (greenwashing) from September 2026 onwards, in order to better protect consumers.
No. The checklist gives you a solid, practical first assessment and a risk check for your most common claims. It doesn’t replace a final legal review, though.
Classic green claims often assert a property of the product (for example, “climate neutral”) that’s difficult to prove. A contribution claim states transparently what concrete contribution you’re making — for example, how many kilograms of plastic waste your support has verifiably helped collect.
The EU prohibits marketing claims based on offsetting emissions outside a company’s own value chain. Instead, companies need to communicate transparently what they actually do or directly fund.
