Restoring consumer confidence in green claims Patrycja Gautier
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GETTING RID OF GREEN WASHING Restoring consumer confidence in green claims Patrycja Gautier 21 st June 2021
Transcript of Restoring consumer confidence in green claims Patrycja Gautier
GETTING RID OF GREEN WASHINGRestoring consumer confidence in green claims
Patrycja Gautier21st June 2021
OBSTACLES ON THE WAY TO THE GREEN TRANSITION
WHAT ARE GREEN CLAIMS?
Green claim – any practice of suggesting or otherwisecreating the impression that a good or a service haspositive or no impact on the environment or is lessdamaging to the environment than the competinggoods and services.
CURRENT LEGAL BASIS• Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD)
• No specific rules on green claims, general principles apply (art. 5,6,7 and 12 UCPD)
• Several practices listed in the UCPD annex could also apply (points 1,2,3,4 and 10)• Specific section on green claims in the UCPD guideline document• National guidelines adopted by some countries
• Green claims need to be clear, specific, unambiguous and accurate
• The following claims can be misleading (if they cause consumers to take a transaction decision that he would not take otherwise):• False / untruthful statements• Claims that deceive (or are likely to deceive) the avarage consumers
• Traders are obliged to submit evidence to the authority, if the claim is challenged (art. 12 UCPD)
CURRENT LEGAL BASIS
Main flaws of the current system:
• Only ex-post & case by case assessments
• No rules on systematic checks
• Long time needed to remove a misleading claim from the market while in the meantime the harm is done
• Practical difficulties for the authorities to enforce the current law:
• No clear cut rules
• Differences in interpretation
• Lack of the specialised knowledge
• Diverging level of enforcement between the EU countries
WHY IS A CHANGE URGENT?
- Consumers more and more aware of the impact of theiractions on the environment and climate change
- 57% of consumers are receptive to environmental claims when making their purchase decision
- 61% of consumers find it difficult to understand which products are truly environmentally-friendly
- Proliferation of green claims on the market- Many green claims are unsubstantiated and potentially
misleading- 45% consumers don’t trust environmental claims
- Consumers are not able to make a distinction between a non-certified and third party certified green label
- Consumer trust is being undermind- Consumers are not able to effectivelly choose the « real »
green products
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK:
- Green Deal Commununication (December 2019)
- Circular Economy Action Plan (April 2020)
- Upcoming proposal on empowering consumers in the green transition (Q4 2021)
- Upcoming proposal on substantiating green claims
(Q4 2021)
BEUC RECOMMANDATIONS
- A pre-approval procedure for all green claims and labels inspired by the Health and Nutrition Claims Regulation
- An EU-level assessment
- Public Registry with an erga omnes effect
- Blacklist of claims impossible to substantiate
- Obligation to submit the evidence before usinga claim
- Effective market survaillance
For more information see: BEUC position paper
GREEN
LABELS
BEUC recommends:
- Introducing a centralised accreditation scheme for green labels
- A limited list of reputable and well recognisedecolabels should be drawn up that would be exempted from an obligation to apply for accreditation.
- Labels seeking the accreditation would need to fulfil a set of pre-conditions
- Labels that do not meet the accreditation requirement would be prohibited from use.
Thank you for your attention
This presentation is part of an activity which has received funding under an operating grant from the European Union’s ConsumerProgramme (2014-2020).
