On 28 February 2024, the EU adopted Directive (EU) 2024/825, better known as the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (the "EmpCo Directive" or the "Directive"). As part of the European Green Deal, the EmpCo Directive aims to empower consumers through better information and through better protection against unfair practices. Among other things, the Directive introduces twelve new misleading commercial practices relating to environmental and sustainability claims that are prohibited in all circumstances, as well as an amended general prohibition of misleading practices. The Belgian act transposing the EmpCo Directive enters into force on 27 September 2026.
Background and objective
The EmpCo Directive amends Directive 2005/29/EC on unfair commercial practices and Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights. It aims to tackle unclear, misleading or unsubstantiated claims and to protect consumers against greenwashing. The Directive is a maximum harmonisation measure, and the Belgian legislator has therefore transposed its provisions faithfully.
Member States were required to adopt the transposing measures by 27 March 2026. Belgium ultimately did so through the Act of 22 July 2026 (the "Act"). The Act amends the Code of Economic Law ("CEL") in two ways: it introduces new definitions in Book I, and it tightens the rules on pre-contractual information and misleading commercial practices in Book VI.
Environmental claims and sustainability labels
The concept of an "environmental claim" is central to the new rules. An environmental claim is any message or representation which is not mandatory, in the context of a commercial communication, and which states or implies that a product, brand or trader has a positive or zero impact on the environment, is less damaging to the environment, or has improved its impact over time.
The Act introduces the concept of a "sustainability label". This is any voluntary trust mark, quality mark or equivalent that aims to set apart and promote a product, a process or a business by reference to its environmental or social characteristics, or both. Henceforth, a sustainability label may only be displayed if it is based on a certification scheme. A certification scheme is a third-party verification scheme whose terms are publicly available, which is open under transparent, fair and non-discriminatory terms, and whose requirements are developed in consultation with relevant experts and stakeholders.
An environmental claim that is not included on a sustainability label, and where the specification of the claim is not provided in clear and prominent terms on the same medium, is a "generic environmental claim".
The concepts of durability, software update, consumable, commercial guarantee of durability, producer and reparability score are also defined.
Twelve new practices prohibited in all circumstances
The Act adds twelve commercial practices that are prohibited in all circumstances to the blacklist of misleading commercial practices in Article VI.100 CEL (points 28° to 39°).
The first set of prohibitions concerns environmental claims and sustainability labels. For example, it is now prohibited to display a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme or not established by public authorities.
Likewise, a trader may not make a generic environmental claim (such as "environmentally friendly", "green", "carbon friendly", "biodegradable" or "eco-friendly") if it is not able to demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim, unless the specification of the claim is provided in clear and prominent terms on the same medium.
Environmental claims about the entire product or the trader's entire business are prohibited where they concern only a certain aspect of the product or a specific activity of the trader's business, and this is not made clear (e.g. "made with recycled material").
It is also prohibited to claim, based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Claims such as "CO2 neutral certified" or "climate neutral" that rely on offsetting are therefore excluded. Nor may a trader present requirements imposed by law that apply to all competitors as a distinctive feature of its offer.
The second set of prohibitions concerns the durability and reparability of products. Among other things, traders may not withhold information from the consumer about the fact that a software update will negatively impact the functioning of the goods, nor present a software update as necessary when it only enhances functionality features. Any commercial communication in relation to a good containing a feature introduced to limit its durability, despite information on that feature being available to the trader, is also prohibited. The same applies to falsely claiming that a good has a certain durability, or presenting a good as allowing repair when it does not. Finally, it is prohibited to induce consumers to replace or replenish consumables earlier than necessary, or to withhold information concerning the impairment of the functionality of a good when spare parts or accessories not supplied by the original producer are used.
General prohibition of misleading practices
The Act tightens the general prohibition of misleading commercial practices, which must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Environmental or social characteristics and circularity aspects are now also regarded as "main characteristics" of a product.
In addition, climate-related claims concerning future performance (e.g. "climate neutral by 2027") must be supported by clear, objective, publicly available and verifiable commitments and targets.
There are also new rules for traders that provide a service which compares products.
More and better pre-contractual information
The Act strengthens the duty to inform consumers, both in store and online. The changes affect the general information requirements (Article VI.2 CEL) and the specific requirements for distance contracts and off-premises contracts (Articles VI.45 and VI.64 CEL).
In practice, before the consumer is bound by a contract, traders must now also provide the reparability score for the goods, where applicable. Where there is no reparability score and provided that the producer makes the information available to the trader, traders must provide information about the availability and estimated cost of, and procedure for ordering, spare parts, about the availability of repair and maintenance instructions and about repair restrictions. For goods with digital elements, for digital content and for digital services, the minimum period during which the producer or the provider provides software updates must be stated. Where the producer also offers a commercial guarantee of durability at no additional cost, covering the entire good and with a duration of more than two years, this must also be communicated to the consumer.
Finally, consumers must be reminded of the existence of the statutory guarantee of conformity and its minimum duration of two years. To ensure that this information is provided in the same way throughout the EU, the Directive and the Act require the use of a harmonised notice and, where applicable, a harmonised label for the commercial guarantee of durability. Their design and content are laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960.
For distance contracts and off-premises contracts, traders must also mention environmentally friendly delivery options where available.
Entry into force and transitional enforcement regime
The Act enters into force on 27 September 2026. In principle, it applies equally to goods already on the market. The EmpCo Directive does not provide for a general transitional regime for existing packaging or goods already on the market.
However, the Act provides that for the first six months, the Economic Inspectorate cannot enforce the twelve new practices prohibited in all circumstances against goods produced, packaged or placed on the market before 27 September 2026. This temporary enforcement moratorium does not prevent competitors or consumers from bringing claims.
Impact
Many traders still use generic environmental claims without a clear specification or claims that relate only to certain aspects of their products or services. This occurs in marketing and communications, and sometimes even in the product name or brand itself.
Insufficiently substantiated labels and claims based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions are also still widespread.
It is also important to integrate the new pre-contractual information requirements on guarantees, reparability, spare parts and software updates properly into sales channels, both online and offline.
Hence, there is still a lot of work to be done.
If you have any questions about environmental or sustainability claims or commercial communications, please do not hesitate to contact us for a tailored analysis.
