New EU Green Claims Rules: What SMEs Need to Know

The EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, often shortened to the ECGT Directive, is designed to stop misleading environmental and sustainability claims. In simple terms, businesses need to be more careful about what they say, what they imply, and what evidence sits behind any environmental wording, labels, badges or logos they use.

For many UK SMEs, this may sound like another distant piece of EU regulation and in many cases it will not apply directly. But for businesses selling to consumers in the EU, directly or through retailers or distributors, it is worth paying attention now. The new rules come into force on 27 September 2026.

Who is unlikely to be affected?

For many UK-based SMEs, the Directive has no bearing. It does not affect you if you do not sell or market products or services to consumers in the EU.

If you only sell to consumers in the UK, or you operate purely in a business-to-business context, there is nothing to worry about.

Who should pay closer attention?

You should take a closer look if your business sells products or services to EU consumers, either directly or through retailers, distributors or online marketplaces.

This is especially relevant if you use environmental wording on packaging, product pages, websites, adverts, or social media. It also matters if you use sustainability badges, eco-labels, certification marks, or logos in consumer-facing communications.

What is changing?

The Directive makes the rules on green claims tighter. It does not stop businesses talking about sustainability, but it does mean claims need to be clear, specific, and backed by evidence.

Claims should be accurate, easy to understand, specific about what they relate to, supported by evidence and not misleading. Broad claims such as “eco-friendly”, “green”, “planet-friendly” or “sustainable” are likely to be risky unless you explain exactly what they mean.

The simple rule is this: if you cannot explain and evidence the claim, do not use it.

Why vague green claims are risky

Most greenwashing is not deliberate. It often happens when businesses use positive-sounding language that does not say enough.

For example, “eco-friendly packaging” is vague unless you explain what part of the packaging is better and why. “100% recycled” may be misleading if it only applies to part of the product. “Carbon neutral” can’t be used as it relies on offsetting, a long-overdue change. “Sustainable product” is too broad unless it is linked to clear evidence or a recognised standard.

This does not mean you should stop making environmental claims. It means you should make better claims. Good claims are usually more specific, more modest and more useful.

What does this mean for Green Business Certification?

The rules also apply to sustainability labels, badges and logos. A logo is not just decoration. It tells the customer something and may suggest that a product, service or business has met an environmental standard.

Green Business Certification does not meet the Directive’s requirements for use as a consumer-facing sustainability label in the EU. It is not established by a public authority, and it is not certification by an accredited certification body.

That means businesses selling to EU consumers should not use the Green Business Certified logo, or wording based on Green Business Certification, as part of consumer-facing environmental claims. The safest approach is not to rely on the certification in EU consumer communications at all.

Instead, claims should be factual and specific to the product, packaging, service, or business activity being described. Say what you have done, what it applies to, and what evidence supports it. Do not use Green Business Certification as a shortcut for wider environmental credibility in EU consumer marketing.

The EMS still has value

This does not reduce the value of the environmental management system behind Green Business Certification. For many businesses, the main benefit is not the badge. It is the practical framework for action.

A good EMS helps a business identify environmental impacts, decide what matters most, set actions, assign responsibilities, and track progress. Through Green Business, clients also get advice, resources, templates, an action plan, portal access and support to keep improving over time.

That work remains useful for internal management, supplier questionnaires, procurement responses and “ISO 14001 or equivalent” requests where equivalent evidence is accepted. But for EU consumer-facing claims, the focus should be on factual statements about products, services, packaging, emissions, materials, actions and progress, not on the certification.

What should SMEs do now?

Start with a simple claims audit. Review your website, product and service pages, packaging, social media profiles, email footers, sales brochures, certification logos, carbon and net zero statements, and any supplier claims you repeat.

For each claim, ask what exactly you are saying, what it applies to, what evidence supports it, whether the evidence is current and whether a customer could misunderstand it. If a claim is hard to explain or evidence, it probably needs to be rewritten or removed.

If you sell to EU consumers, remove reliance on Green Business Certification from consumer-facing environmental claims. Do not use the logo as a sustainability label for EU consumers.

The only labels or certifications you should use in such circumstances are those which have been independently verified by an accredited third party. Think ISO 14001 or B Corp certification under the new B Corp standard.

Better claims, not fewer claims

Some businesses may respond to stricter rules by saying less. That is understandable, but it is not always the best approach. Customers, suppliers, staff, and procurement teams still want to know what you are doing.

The aim should be better communication, not silence. For SMEs, this can be an advantage. You do not need long reports or complex language. You need clear claims, good evidence, and honest wording.

A good environmental claim is usually plain English, specific, proportionate, evidence-based, honest about limitations and clear about what it applies to.

A simple example

Instead of saying “We are an eco-friendly business”, say something specific about what has actually been done.

For example: “This bottle body is made from 100% recycled PET. The cap and label are not included in that claim.” Or: “We have measured our Scope 1, 2 and selected Scope 3 emissions and are working through a reduction plan focused on business travel, purchased goods and supplier engagement.”

For EU consumer-facing communications, avoid wording such as “We are Green Business Certified” as the basis for an environmental claim. Use the underlying facts instead: the actions taken, the materials used, the emissions measured, the improvements made, and the evidence available.

What about UK-only and B2B-only SMEs?

If your business only sells to UK consumers, or you only sell to businesses, the Directive does not apply directly. But it is still worth paying attention.

The wider direction of travel is clear. Regulators, buyers, investors and certification bodies are all expecting better environmental claims. The UK already expects green claims to be accurate, clear, substantiated, not misleading and honest about important limitations.

So even if the EU rules do not apply to your business, the same good practice still makes sense.

The main takeaway

The new EU rules are not about stopping good businesses from talking about their environmental work. They are about making sure sustainability claims are clear, fair and backed by evidence.

For SMEs selling to EU consumers, the key point is simple: do not rely on vague or unsubstantiated claims. Instead, make factual and clear claims about your products, packaging, services, emissions, actions and progress, and only use badges and certifications that are independently verified by an accredited third party.