Don’t make green claims law onerous, says manufacturers

Lighting manufacturers across the EU have called on lawmakers to make the forthcoming Green Claims Directive effective and pragmatic rather than an obstacle to competitiveness.

In a position paper, representative body LightingEurope called for simplified paperwork and a unified labelling system across the member states.

It said there should be a ‘pragmatic’ approach to claims for products containing hazardous substances, as well as a simplified procedure.

‘The Green Claims Directive must not become an obstacle for European competitiveness and innovation,’ said Teresa Selvaggio, LightingEurope’s Director of Public Affairs.

‘Where applicable and in line with the objectives of the directive, the simplified procedure must be applied to reduce the financial and administrative burdens of the manufacturers’.

The European Union’s Green Claims Directive aims to combat greenwashing by ensuring that environmental claims made by businesses are clear, accurate, and substantiated. UK lighting manufacturers exporting to EU countries must comply with the directive to maintain market access.

Under the directive, companies must substantiate environmental claims using scientific evidence, such as life cycle assessments, and have these claims independently verified before communicating them to consumers.

This means that terms like ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘sustainable’ must be backed by credible data and cannot be misleading or vague.

The directive also seeks to regulate the proliferation of environmental labels to ensure their reliability and transparency.

For lighting manufacturers, this entails a review of marketing materials, product labels, and advertising to ensure compliance with the directive’s stringent requirements. Failure to adhere could result in penalties and damage to brand reputation in the EU market.

Domestically, while the UK is not bound by the EU’s Green Claims Directive, it has implemented its own measures to address greenwashing. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has introduced the Green Claims Code, providing guidance for businesses on making environmental claims. This code emphasises that claims must be truthful, clear, and substantiated, aligning with principles similar to those in the EU directive.

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