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Check a green claim against the EU rules that apply from 27 September 2026

From 27 September 2026, EU consumer law bans product claims of "climate neutral" or "reduced impact" when they rest on carbon offsetting, and bans generic claims such as "eco-friendly" without proof of recognised excellent performance. Paste a claim below to see which rules it touches and what wording would hold up.

Up to 500 characters per claim. Nothing you type is stored.
1. Who sees this claim?
2. What is the claim about?
3. What is it based on?
4. Does it use a label, badge or seal?
5. Where do you sell?
Two follow-up questions, which sharpen two of the rules
Does what backs the claim cover the whole product or business, or one part of it?
Is the feature you mention required by law for all products of this type?
Results are worked out on the spot from a fixed rule table. No AI decides anything.

What changes on 27 September 2026

Offset-based product claims

A product can no longer be described as climate neutral, carbon neutral, or as having a reduced or positive climate impact because the company bought carbon credits. Claims about a product's climate impact have to rest on that product's own performance.

Generic claims

Words such as "eco-friendly", "green" or "climate friendly" need proof of recognised excellent environmental performance, or a specific explanation of the benefit in clear and prominent terms in the same place as the claim.

Labels

Sustainability labels must come from a certification scheme or a public authority. Self-created badges are no longer allowed.

The Directive is applied through each member state's own law, so these are EU rules that member states apply from 27 September 2026 rather than a single enforcement regime.

What companies can still say about carbon credits

Companies can describe what they funded, as long as it is accurate and does not suggest neutrality. The Directive says in terms that the ban should not stop companies advertising their investments in carbon credit projects, provided the information is not misleading.

Illustrative example

"In 2025 we funded the retirement of 12,000 tonnes of carbon credits from a verified forest protection project in Peru, in addition to cutting our own emissions."

Link each statement to a registry retirement record. Every project in the project database carries the link to its record at the registry that holds it, where retirements are published.

Questions

Does this ban all carbon neutral claims?
It bans claims that a product or service has a neutral, reduced or positive climate impact when they rest on offsetting emissions outside its value chain. That ban applies in all circumstances. Claims about a whole company are not covered by that specific ban; they are assessed case by case under the general rules against misleading practices, and carry high risk when they rest on offsets.
Do high quality credits make a neutrality claim acceptable?
No. The ban turns on the basis of the claim, not the quality of the credits. Credits carrying a Core Carbon Principles label, or issued under any standard, still cannot support a claim that a product is climate neutral.
Can I still say "net zero by 2040"?
Only with clear, public and verifiable commitments in a detailed and realistic implementation plan, with measurable and time-bound targets and allocated resources, regularly verified by an independent third party expert whose findings are made available to consumers.
Does this apply outside the EU?
It applies to commercial practices towards consumers in the EU, through each member state's national law, including those of companies based elsewhere that sell to consumers in the EU.
Does it apply to business to business marketing?
The Directive's rules apply to claims made to consumers. Claims made only to business customers fall under other laws, which this tool does not assess, although it shows its results for reference.
Is this legal advice?
No. The checker applies the text of Directive (EU) 2024/825 to your wording. For a final decision, speak to a lawyer in the relevant member state.

This checker gives general information based on Directive (EU) 2024/825. It is not legal advice.

Source: Directive (EU) 2024/825 ยท Rules verified 25 September 2026