EmpCo FAQs from brands and marketing teams

Almost never. Since 27 September 2026, generic green words like "eco-friendly", "green", "eco" or "environmentally friendly" without on-the-spot specifics are banned, unless you can show recognised excellent environmental performance (e.g. EU Ecolabel). Replace with specific, evidenced wording.

"Sustainable" alone is generic and banned unless qualified and substantiated. "Natural" is treated similarly when it implies environmental benefit. For organic food, sectoral rules under Regulation (EU) 2018/848 take precedence.

Only if it meets EmpCo's requirements: established by an EU public authority OR based on a third-party certification scheme with publicly available criteria, open access, expert-developed standards, objective monitoring, and an independent auditor.

Yes. Any B2C commercial practice — paid posts, organic brand content, Stories, Reels, livestreams, and influencer/UGC content the brand commissions or endorses. Update influencer briefs and require pre-approval of green claims.

There is no grandfather clause. Marketing communications, packaging and listings still live on or after 27 September 2026 must comply, even if the product was first put on the market earlier.

If you market or sell to consumers in any EU Member State, yes. UK, US, Asian and Swiss brands shipping to EU buyers are all in scope.

Not at product level if neutrality is achieved by buying offsets outside your value chain. You can still buy credits and report them — you just can't put "carbon neutral product" on the pack.

No. "Climate-friendly", "climate-neutral", "CO2-positive" based primarily on offsetting are blacklisted. The German BGH already enforced this on 27 June 2024.

Self-declared seals not based on independent certification are banned. Drop the badge, re-engineer it into a genuine third-party scheme, or replace it with an external recognised certification.

Strictly, EmpCo is B2C only. But Germany, Italy and Denmark apply analogous rules to B2B; most LinkedIn/corporate content reaches consumers; and Directive 2006/114/EC continues to apply to pure B2B. Treat B2B claims at the same rigour to be safe.

These are environmental claims and must be specific and substantiated. Avoid "eco-pack" or "earth-friendly packaging". If you say "compostable", specify the conditions (e.g. "industrially compostable per EN 13432").

No. EmpCo applies to all traders regardless of size. SMEs are particularly exposed because they often have less robust documentation.

The Green Claims Directive was a separate, more ambitious proposal that the Commission withdrew in June 2025. EmpCo is the directive that has been adopted and applies since 27 September 2026.

Mandatory regulated information is not affected by EmpCo. EmpCo targets voluntary commercial claims. Where sector-specific EU law regulates a particular claim, that law prevails (UCPD Article 3(4)).

Yes — encouraged. EU Ecolabel, EMAS, Nordic Swan, Blauer Engel are explicitly compliant. Robust private schemes meeting the EmpCo criteria (FSC, MSC, GOTS, Cradle to Cradle, Fairtrade) are also fine.

If "EcoBrand" implies a generic environmental benefit you can't substantiate, the use can be challenged as a misleading practice and a trademark application can be refused on public-policy grounds.

EmpCo also covers social claims under its definition of misleading practices and sustainability labels. Same rules: be specific, substantiate, and avoid self-declared social labels without third-party verification.

On 30 June 2026 the EU Consumer Protection Cooperation Network published a non-binding Common Understanding on how national authorities should enforce EmpCo against products, packaging and marketing that pre-date the 27 September 2026 application date. It sets six principles — compliance without delay, phased enforcement, practical constraints, reasonable trader effort, no disproportionate measures, and a compliance-first approach. Read the full briefing at /empco-knowledgebase/cpc-old-stock-common-understanding.

Not automatically. The CPC Common Understanding's fifth principle says authorities may refrain from ordering destruction or recall where doing so would be disproportionate — creating outsized cost or unnecessary environmental harm — for genuine transitional "old stock" situations. Discretion still sits with each national regulator, so document your compliance work and prioritise online claims. See /empco-knowledgebase/cpc-old-stock-common-understanding.