EmpCo directive summary
Directive (EU) 2024/825 adds green claims to the UCPD blacklist. Apply from 27 September 2026
Direct answer. Directive (EU) 2024/825 (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition, often called EmpCo) was adopted on 28 February 2024 and published in the Official Journal on 6 March 2024. It amends the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC. Its annex adds practices to Annex I of that directive, the list of practices that are unfair in all circumstances: a generic environmental claim without recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim; a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme and not established by public authorities; and a claim, based on offsetting greenhouse-gas emissions, that a product has a neutral, reduced, or positive impact in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions. It also adds related points, including a whole-product claim that concerns only one aspect, and presenting a legal requirement as a special feature of the offer. Article 4 on EUR-Lex states that Member States shall adopt and publish the necessary measures by 27 March 2026 and shall apply those measures from 27 September 2026. The worked readings are the sibling guides linked below. This page is not legal advice.
Green Claims Guard (Shopify App Store · Write a review) is a Shopify app for finding greenwashing wording before EmpCo applies: it flags green-claim wording and names the exact provision each finding cites, with a German pack (UWG paragraph references) and a US pack (Made in USA claims under 16 CFR Part 323). It reviews possible issues and exports dated evidence records for catalog and content review. It does not decide whether a claim is lawful. This page is the directive summary — not a scan of your catalog.
Related: CLPLens — Hazard pictograms on the product page, not only the parcel.
Free check first: Green claim wording self-check runs in your browser and sends nothing. Paste product copy and see which environmental wording to review.
Checklist before you treat a green line as on the blacklist
- Open Directive (EU) 2024/825 on EUR-Lex and read Article 4 and the annex. Do not use this paraphrase as the annex.
- The directive was adopted on 28 February 2024 and published in the Official Journal on 6 March 2024. Article 4 dates are Member State transposition: adopt and publish measures by 27 March 2026, apply from 27 September 2026.
- Do not confuse this adopted directive with the Green Claims proposal. That status page is COM(2023) 166 is still a proposal.
- For generic wording, read the generic environmental claims guide. For offset-based neutrality, read the carbon-neutral guide.
- A wording flag is not a decision that the claim is unfair. The app names a provision. It does not decide the claim.
The dates Article 4 states
Directive (EU) 2024/825 was adopted on 28 February 2024 and published in the Official Journal on 6 March 2024. Article 4(1) is the transposition article. On EUR-Lex it states that Member States shall adopt and publish, by 27 March 2026, the measures necessary to comply with the Directive, and that they shall apply those measures from 27 September 2026. Those 2026 dates are for national measures, not the directive’s own adoption or publication. This page does not add an earlier or later application date. If the live article’s verbs differ in a later corrigendum, follow EUR-Lex.
What the annex adds to the UCPD blacklist
Article 1 of the directive amends Directive 2005/29/EC. The annex inserts points into Annex I, the blacklist. In plain words, the environmental points are:
- A sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme and not established by public authorities.
- A generic environmental claim where the trader cannot demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim.
- An environmental claim about the entire product or the entire business when it concerns only a certain aspect or a specific activity.
- A 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.
- Presenting a requirement that the law already imposes on all products in the category as a distinctive feature of the trader’s offer.
The same annex also inserts points on software updates, durability, repair, and consumables. This page does not walk those points. Confirm every point on the live annex. The product-copy readings already on this site are:
- Generic environmental claims — the generic-claim point and the same-page specification.
- Offset-based carbon-neutral claims — the offsetting point, not the generic-adjective point.
- Green Claims Directive status — COM(2023) 166 is a proposal; 2024/825 is the adopted act.
What this page is not
- Not legal advice, and not a substitute for the live directive.
- Not COM(2023) 166. That proposal status is Green Claims Directive status.
- Not the generic-claim how-to. That URL is EU generic environmental claims.
- Not the offset-claim how-to. That URL is EmpCo carbon-neutral and offset claims.
Related pages
- Green claim wording self-check — paste product copy in the browser
- EU generic environmental claims ban
- EmpCo carbon-neutral and offset claims
- Green Claims Directive status — proposal versus Directive (EU) 2024/825
- Directive (EU) 2024/825 — EUR-Lex
- Green Claims Guard — live App Store listing
- Shopify apps hub
- Tools
Not legal advice. Confirm Article 4 and the annex of Directive (EU) 2024/825 on EUR-Lex before you treat a claim or a date as in or out of scope. The app flags wording and names a provision. It does not decide whether a claim is lawful.