The European Parliament has passed a new law to prevent companies from making misleading claims about their environmental friendliness (greenwashing). This law ensures that consumers have access to accurate information and encourages companies to fulfill their environmental responsibilities. This regulation, which aims to increase transparency in the products and services companies claim to be environmentally friendly, is considered an essential milestone in sustainability.
The new law primarily foresees the standardization of environmentally friendly labels and definitions. Thus, it will be harder for companies to make random and misleading environmentally friendly claims on their products, and consumers will be able to understand these claims more efficiently and accurately. Additionally, it has become mandatory for companies' environmental claims to be audited by independent organizations. These audits aim to increase consumer confidence by ensuring the accuracy and transparency of claims.
Another critical regulation brought by the law is transparency and information obligations. Companies must publicly share data and methodologies supporting their environmentally friendly claims. In this way, consumers can check the accuracy of these claims and make informed decisions. Violating the law will result in heavy fines and other sanctions, incentivizing companies to avoid greenwashing.
This new European Parliament law is considered a critical step in ensuring environmental transparency and trust. Thanks to this law, consumers can more reliably find out whether their products are environmentally friendly. At the same time, this regulation will reward companies that contribute to environmental sustainability and adopt more sustainable business models in the long term. This law will enable consumers and companies to fulfill their environmental responsibilities more consciously and effectively.
Author:
Mina Üstün