I green claims, l’economia circolare e il ruolo dei consumatori nella protezione dell’ambiente: le nuove iniziative della Commissione UE

In the past years, the EU Commission has stressed the important role that consumers could play in defining the success of sustainable products, if correctly informed. Unfortunately, faced with a profusion of labels or environmental claims, EU consumers often find it difficult to differentiate between products and to trust the information available. Green claims may not always meet legal requirements for reliability, accuracy and clarity and the phenomenon of greenwashing is widespread. At international level, both the International Standards Organization and the International Chamber of Commerce have taken initiatives, with the goal of making green claims more reliable. In the different Member States, national advertisement self-regulatory authorities have introduced specific norms and directives aimed at preventing the misuse of these claims to mislead the consumers. The Commission is working with stakeholders to make green claims more trustworthy, in order to ensure better enforcement of the rules in place, including through updated guidance on unfair commercial practices.