Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcasts.

The EU is working on new rules to protect consumers against greenwashing and misleading environmental claims

and ensure that when something is sold as green, it actually is green. Stay with us and find out how you'll benefit from it.

Eco-friendly soap. Genes made of recycled. Stay with us and find out how you'll benefit from it.

Eco-friendly soap. Jeans made of recycled plastic bottles.

Carbon-compensated ride.

Ocean-friendly sunscreen.

As European consumers, we are faced with constant claims on the green nature of products and services for sale.

But how do we know they really are what they claim to be?

Well, it certainly isn't easy.

In 2020, the European Commission found that over 50% of examined environmental claims in the

EU were vague, misleading or unfounded, and 40% unsubstantiated.

But this is about to change.

In March 20203, the European Commission proposed common criteria to ensure that green claims are

reliable, comparable and verifiable throughout the EU.

Let's hear the European Commissioner for Environment,

Virginia Sinkavichius. What we propose is a new regulatory framework. So we want, first of all,

consumers to get a trustworthy information, which is consistent and verifiable. We want environmental labels

that are more transparent and of course easier to understand.

And for companies, we want a legal certainty.

If they go through, the new rules would apply to all voluntary claims about the environmental impacts

or performance of a product, service or the trader itself, excluding, of course,

...