Industry bodies call for simplified verification process in EU Green Claims Directive 

10 May 2024 --- A collaboration of industry bodies is calling for the European Council (EC) to adopt a “simplified procedure” for the upcoming Green Claims Directive, which would allow companies whose environmental claims are based on methodologies or certifications that are already widely recognized to fast track their applications and approvals.

Signatories of the call include The European Organisation for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN), the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) and the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI).  

The proposed simplified procedure would guarantee clarity, predictability and legal certainty for all interested parties while simplifying and reducing the burden for traders, they say. 

The verification process would apply to claims that do not require substantiation through a full life cycle assessment and claims whose assessment is based on methodologies that are widely recognized, like ISO, OECD, PEF and EU Ecolabel.

“The ex-ante verification and certification process established in the proposal raises concerns among the industry,” the associations write.  

“With the risk of creating 27 different approval systems and the high number of environmental claims and labels that will need to be pre-verified, this would hamper the EU internal market, increasing the burden and costs for traders, and consequently delaying the provision of the information to the consumer. This is ultimately contrary to the objectives of fostering the competitiveness of the European industry in the green transition.”

Simplified verification would reduce burdens on the industry and legislators, say the associations.Avoiding secondary legislation 
A simplified procedure would avoid mandating the EC to adopt secondary legislation specifying substantiation and communication requirements for each type of environmental claim, the bodies say. 

Secondary legislation would also stretch EC resources (with an increased risk of delays) and result in a positive list, with negative consequences on new claims reflecting innovation. 

The signatories ask that the EC avoids “the duplication of the documentation requirements for environmental claims whose substantiation is based on rules established by other EU legislation or for environmental claims based on awarded labels — ensuring that pre-existing well-recognized labels can receive speedier compliance recognition in relation to the requirements of the directive.”

“An agile framework is essential to support the necessary industry investments to reach the ambitious EU climate and environmental goals, as well as ensure the prompt information of the consumer for more sustainable choices,” they write. 

Mitigating trading challenges 
To reduce complications for all interested parties, from traders to national authorities and verifiers, the framework established in the directive should be simplified, argue the bodies. 

They note that the EC’s recent position “marks progress in addressing identified flaws in the proposed ex-ante verification framework.”

“Notably, we support the intention behind the introduction of the simplified procedure to reduce the burden of the substantiation and ex-ante verification requirements for specific environmental claims.”

“Nonetheless, we are concerned about the EC’s proposed means to simplify the framework, as they may create an unintended additional burden, duplicating in some cases the documentation to be provided and further complicating the simplified procedure by mandating the adoption of detailed rules from the EC.”

Additionally, the EC’s discussions do not properly address the challenges in the full ex-ante verification and certification process, claim the bodies, due to a lack of deadlines for the completion of the process by verifiers.  

“We need a well-designed and implementable green claims framework that will enable the achievement of EU climate and environment objectives and empower consumers to make more sustainable choices. We would welcome the opportunity of an open and transparent dialogue to ensure a future-proof practical and workable framework, for both traders and verification authorities.”

By Louis Gore-Langton