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- Decision by Parliament, 1st reading 2024/03/12
- Debate in Parliament 2024/03/11
- Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading 2024/02/23
- Vote in committee, 1st reading 2024/02/14
- Committee opinion 2024/01/25
- Amendments tabled in committee 2023/11/13
- Amendments tabled in committee 2023/11/13
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Progress: Awaiting Council's 1st reading position
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
---|---|---|---|
Joint Responsible Committee | ['ENVI', 'IMCO'] | ENGERER Cyrus ( S&D), ANSIP Andrus ( Renew) | KOKALARI Arba ( EPP), WEISS Pernille ( EPP), BALLARÍN CEREZA Laura ( S&D), WIESNER Emma ( Renew), GALLÉE Malte ( Verts/ALE), VAN SPARRENTAK Kim ( Verts/ALE), JORON Virginie ( ID), TARDINO Annalisa ( ID), FIDANZA Carlo ( ECR), FIOCCHI Pietro ( ECR), KOKKALIS Petros ( GUE/NGL), PELLETIER Anne-Sophie ( GUE/NGL) |
Committee Opinion | BUDG | ||
Committee Opinion | ITRE | ||
Committee Opinion | AGRI | SARVAMAA Petri ( EPP) | Luke Ming FLANAGAN ( GUE/NGL), Rosanna CONTE ( ID), Emmanouil FRAGKOS ( ECR), Martin HLAVÁČEK ( RE), Claude GRUFFAT ( Verts/ALE), Achille VARIATI ( S&D) |
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 58, TFEU 114
Legal Basis:
RoP 58, TFEU 114Subjects
Events
The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection adopted a joint report by Cyrus ENGERER (S&D, MT) and Andrus ANSIP (Renew, EE) on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims (Green Claims Directive).
The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows:
Subject matter and scope
The report clarified that the purpose of the proposed Directive is to provide for a high level of consumer and environmental protection, while contributing to the functioning of the internal market, by approximating the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States related to environmental claims made on or with reference to products made available on the market or to traders making products available on the market. It should apply to explicit environmental claims made by traders about products placed on the market or put into service, including through online platforms or traders and environmental labelling schemes in business-to-consumer commercial practices.
Substantiation of explicit environmental claims
Explicit environmental claims claiming that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive environmental impact based on the use of carbon credits should be prohibited. By 18 months after the entry into force of this Directive, the Commission should provide a report on the use of explicit environmental claims on products or product groups containing substances or preparations/mixtures meeting the criteria for classification as toxic, hazardous to the environment, carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMR).
Environmental labelling schemes
Environmental labelling schemes established by private operators prior to the date of transposition may continue to award environmental labels, which are to be used on the Union market, provided they meet the requirements of this Directive.
The Commission should publish and keep-up-to date a list of environmental labelling schemes that comply with this Directive and environmental labels that are allowed to be used. This list should be available to the public free of charge and be presented in an understandable manner.
Verification
The verification of explicit environmental claims and environmental labelling schemes should be completed within 30 days. The verifier may decide to extend the period for verification for more than 30 days in duly justified cases. Member States may prioritise the verification of existing environmental claims made before the entry into force of this Directive. The verifier should have adequate resources, in particular technical capabilities and a sufficient number of suitably qualified and experienced personnel, with experience in life-cycle assessments, where necessary, responsible for carrying out the verification tasks.
Small and medium sized enterprises
To support SMEs, the report suggested that Member States should designate single points of contact for microenterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises from where they can request information on complying with the requirements on explicit environmental claims and on the available support.
Compliance monitoring measures
The competent authorities may decide upon a duly justified request from the trader, in exceptional cases, to grant the trader one extension to the original 30 days, during which the trader will be required to take all appropriate corrective action.
Where the competent authorities of a Member State establish that verifiers have repeatedly issued certificates of conformity for explicit environmental claims that do not comply with the requirements laid down in this Directive, the verifier's accreditation should be withdrawn without undue delay.
Complaint-handling and access to justice
Competent authorities should, as soon as possible and in any case within 30 days from receiving the substantiated concern inform the relevant person or organisation that submitted the complaint of its decision to accede to or refuse the request for action put forward in the complaint and shall provide the reasons for it and a description of the further steps and measures it will take.
Consultation forum
A new article proposes that the Commission should establish a green claims consultation forum involving balanced participation of Member States’ representatives and all relevant interested parties.
Monitoring
National competent authorities should actively collaborate and regularly exchange best practices regarding the implementation of this Directive.
Evaluation and review
Members considered that the report should assess whether this Directive has achieved its objective, in particular with regard to:
- facilitating transition towards toxic free environment;
- ensuring that traders effectively prioritise emission reductions in their own operations and value chains, by assessing the adequacy of the provisions related to the use of carbon credits;
- further strengthening consumer protection and the functioning of the internal market by considering extending the requirements on substantiation of explicit environmental claims to micro enterprises.
Transposition
Member States may introduce a transitional period, between the date of entry into force and the date of application of this Directive, during which existing environmental claims submitted for verification can be used.
PURPOSE: to lay down new rules to stop companies from making misleading claims about environmental merits of their products and services and allow consumers to make informed environmental choices (Green Claims Directive).
PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: claiming to be ‘green’ and sustainable has become a competitiveness factor, with green products registering greater growth than standard products. If goods and services offered and purchased on the internal market are not as environmentally friendly as presented, this would mislead the consumers, hamper the green transition and prevent the reduction of negative environmental impacts.
Different requirements imposed by national legislation or private initiatives regulating environmental claims create a burden for companies in cross-border trade, as they need to comply with different requirements in each Member State. This affects their capacity to operate in and take advantage of the internal market.
With a proliferation of different labels and calculation methods on the market, it is difficult for consumers, businesses, investors and stakeholders to establish if claims are trustworthy.
In March 2022, the Commission proposed to update Union consumer law to ensure that consumers are protected and to empower them to contribute actively to the green transition. This proposal provides more specific rules ( lex specialis ) and complements the proposed changes to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive ( lex generalis ).
CONTENT: according to the proposal, when companies choose to make a ‘green claim' about their products or services, they will have to respect minimum norms on how they substantiate these claims and how they communicate them. The proposal applies to explicit environmental claims made by traders about products or traders in business-to-consumer commercial practices. It aims to:
- increase the level of environmental protection and contribute to accelerating the green transition towards a circular, clean and climate neutral economy in the EU;
- protect consumers and companies from greenwashing;
- enable consumers to contribute to accelerating the green transition by making informed purchasing decisions based on credible environmental claims and labels;
- improve the legal certainty as regards environmental claims and the level playing fields on the internal market;
- boost the competitiveness of economic operators that make efforts to increase the environmental sustainability of their products and activities; and
- create cost saving opportunities for such operators that are trading across borders.
Scope of the proposal
The proposal sets minimum requirements on the substantiation and communication of voluntary environmental claims and environmental labelling in business-to-consumer commercial practices, without any prejudice to other Union legislation setting out conditions on environmental claims as regards certain products or sectors.
Requirements for substantiation of environmental claims
The proposal requires that the substantiation of explicit environmental claims be based on an assessment that meets selected minimum criteria to prevent the claims from being misleading. In particular, the underlying assessment should:
- be based on recognised scientific evidence and state-of-the-art technical knowledge;
- demonstrate the significance of impacts, aspects and performance from a life cycle perspective;
- consider all significant aspects and impacts in assessing performance;
- provide information on whether the product is significantly better environmentally than current practice;
- require that greenhouse gas emission offsets be reported in a transparent manner.
Microenterprises (fewer than 10 employees and with an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 2 million) are exempted from the requirements of this article unless they wish to receive a certificate of conformity of the environmental claim in which case they will have to comply with these requirements.
If products or organisations are compared to other products and organisations, these comparisons should be fair and based on equivalent information and data.
Environmental labelling
The proposal will also regulate environmental labels. To control the proliferation of such labels, new public labelling schemes will not be allowed, unless developed at EU level, and any new private schemes will need to show higher environmental ambition than existing ones and get a pre-approval to be allowed. There are detailed rules about environmental labels in general: they must also be reliable, transparent, independently verified, and regularly reviewed.
Aggregated scoring
The environmental labels often aim at providing consumers with an aggregated scoring presenting a cumulative environmental impact of products or traders to allow for direct comparisons between products or traders. Such aggregated scoring however presents risks of misleading consumers as the aggregated indicator may dilute negative environmental impacts of certain aspects of the product with more positive environmental impacts of other aspects of the product.
Claims or labels that use aggregate scoring of the product's overall environmental impact, will no longer be permitted according to the proposal.
Enforcement of provisions
Each Member State will designate one or more appropriate competent authority as responsible to enforce the provisions set out in the proposal. As the consumer protection mechanisms vary between each Member State, it is proposed to let them designate the most efficient competent authority to carry out the enforcement including inspections, sanctions and judicial pursuits. In this way, the proposal leaves the possibility to Member States to choose the existing mechanisms under consumer protection law.
Budgetary implications
The proposal involves a budget of a total of approx. EUR 25 million until 2027 (i.e. under the current multi-financial framework).
Documents
- Text adopted by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T9-0131/2024
- Decision by Parliament, 1st reading: T9-0131/2024
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading: A9-0056/2024
- Committee opinion: PE753.776
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE756.117
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE756.118
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE756.119
- Committee draft report: PE753.670
- Committee of the Regions: opinion: CDR2019/2023
- Contribution: COM(2023)0166
- Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report: CES5381/2022
- Legislative proposal published: COM(2023)0166
- Legislative proposal published: EUR-Lex
- Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report: CES5381/2022
- Committee of the Regions: opinion: CDR2019/2023
- Committee draft report: PE753.670
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE756.117
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE756.118
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE756.119
- Committee opinion: PE753.776
- Text adopted by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T9-0131/2024
- Contribution: COM(2023)0166
Activities
- Seán KELLY
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Stanislav POLČÁK
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Martin HOJSÍK
Plenary Speeches (0)
Amendments | Dossier |
192 |
2023/0085(COD)
2023/10/31
AGRI
192 amendments...
Amendment 100 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new) (ea) demonstrate that the claim goes beyond the requirements imposed by law on products within the product group, or traders within the sector; in particular for practices going beyond GAEC;
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f (f) provide information whether the product or trader which is subject to the claim performs significantly better regarding environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance which is subject to the claim than what is common practice for products in the relevant product group or traders in
Amendment 102 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g Amendment 103 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g (g) identify whether improving the overall environmental footprint, the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance subject to the claim leads to significant harm in relation to environmental impacts on climate change, resource consumption and circularity, sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources,
Amendment 104 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g (g) identify whether improving environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance subject to the claim may lead
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h (h) strictly and clearly separate any greenhouse gas emissions offsets used from greenhouse gas emissions as additional environmental information, specify whether those offsets relate to emission reductions or removals, and describe how the offsets relied upon are of the highest integrity, additional and permanent, and accounted for correctly to reflect the claimed impact on climate; only offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions through carbon credits generated inside the company’s value chain shall be taken into account;
Amendment 106 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point j (j) include relevant secondary information for environmental impacts, environmental aspects, or environmental performance which is representative of the specific value chain of the product or the trader on which a claim is made, in cases where no primary information is available. For product categories and sectors which have developed a PEFCR and/or OEFSR, these may be used when assessing the life cycle;
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point j a (new) (ja) ensure that the evidence is independently audited and verified and the audit report is made available;
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point j b (new) (jb) include information on which methodology the trader used to calculate the claim;
Amendment 109 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 2 2. Where it is demonstrated that significant environmental impacts that are not subject to the claim exist but there is no widely recognised scientific evidence to perform the assessment referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1, the trader making the claim on another aspect shall take account of available information and, if necessary, update the assessment in accordance with paragraph 1 once widely recognised scientific evidence is available. To support traders in making the assessment referred to in point (c), the European Commission shall, within 12 months from the entry into force of the Directive, publish and regularly update the list of methodologies which are compliant with Article 3. This shall include also methodologies verified in line with Article 10, paragraph 2, point b.
Amendment 110 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 3 3. The requirements set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to traders that are microenterprises within the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC110 unless they request the verification with the aim of receiving the certificate of conformity in accordance with Article 10. Micro-enterprises may use, upon request, simplified forms to draw up and submit the explicit environmental declarations referred to in these paragraphs. __________________ 110
Amendment 111 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 4 – introductory part 4. When the regular monitoring of the evolution of environmental claims referred to in Article 20 reveals differences in the application of the requirements laid down in paragraph 1 for specific claims and such differences create obstacles for the functioning of the internal market, or where the Commission identifies that the
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 4 – point a (a) determining the rules for assessing the overall environmental footprint, the environmental aspects, environmental impacts and environmental performance, including by determining the activities, processes, materials, emissions or use of a product, which contribute significantly or cannot contribute to the relevant environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance;
Amendment 113 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 5 – introductory part 5. When specifying further the requirements for substantiation of explicit environmental claims in accordance with previous paragraph, the Commission shall take into account scientific or other available technical information, including
Amendment 114 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 5 – introductory part 5. When specifying further the requirements for substantiation of explicit environmental claims in accordance with previous paragraph, the Commission shall take into account scientific or other available technical information, including relevant international standards, EU standards included in EU regulations that are higher than international standards, and where relevant consider the following:
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 5 – introductory part 5. When specifying further the requirements for substantiation of explicit environmental claims in accordance with previous paragraph, the Commission shall take into account scientific or other available technical information, including relevant
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 5 – point d a (new) (da) requirements relating to eco- schemes in the CAP shall be deemed eligible for environmental claims under this Directive;
Amendment 117 #
Proposal for a directive Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part 1. The substantiation of explicit environmental claims that state or imply that a product or trader has less environmental impacts or a better environmental performance, or a smaller overall environmental footprint than other products or traders (‘comparative environmental claims’) shall, in addition to the requirements set out in Article 3, comply with the following requirements:
Amendment 118 #
Proposal for a directive Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a (a) the information and data used for assessing the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of the products or traders against which the comparison is made, are equivalent to the information and data used for assessing the overall environmental footprint, the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of the product or trader which is subject to the claim;
Amendment 119 #
Proposal for a directive Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b (b) the data used for assessing the overall environmental footprint, the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of the products or traders is generated or sourced in an equivalent manner as the data used for assessing the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of the products or traders against which the comparison is made;
Amendment 12 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 1 (1) Claiming to be “green” and sustainable has become a competitiveness factor, with green products registering greater growth than standard products. If goods and services offered and purchased on the internal market are not as environmentally friendly in terms of compliance as presented, this would mislead the consumers, hamper the objectives linked to the green transition and prevent the reduction of negative environmental impacts. The potential of green markets is not fully realised. Different requirements imposed by national legislation or private initiatives regulating environmental claims create a burden and uncertainty for companies in cross-border trade, as they need to comply with different requirements in each Member State. This affects their capacity to operate in and take advantage of the internal market. At the same time, market participants have difficulties with identifying reliable environmental claims and making optimal purchasing decisions on the internal market. With a proliferation of different labels and calculation methods on the market, it is difficult for consumers, businesses, investors and stakeholders to establish if claims are trustworthy and if they ensure compliance.
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a directive Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point d (d) the coverage of the overall environmental footprint, environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performances is equivalent for the products and traders compared and ensures that the most significant environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performances are taken into account for all products and traders;
Amendment 121 #
Proposal for a directive Article 4 – paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Claims, based on greenhouse gas emissions offsetting, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions shall not be made.
Amendment 122 #
Proposal for a directive Article 4 – paragraph 2 b (new) 2b. Claims shall not be made on positive environmental impacts, aspects or performance the achievement of which has led or will lead to significant negative increase of any other environmental impact or aspect, in particular related to climate change, resource consumption and circularity, sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, pollution, biodiversity and ecosystems.
Amendment 123 #
Proposal for a directive Article 4 – paragraph 2 c (new) 2c. Claims shall not be made on positive environmental impacts, aspects or performance the achievement of which has led or will lead to a significant negative increase of the same environmental impact or aspect in another lifecycle stage of the product or part of the trader.
Amendment 124 #
Proposal for a directive Article 4 – paragraph 2 d (new) Amendment 125 #
Proposal for a directive Article 4 – paragraph 2 e (new) 2e. Claims shall not be made for a product when synthetic fertiliser has been used.
Amendment 126 #
Proposal for a directive Article 4 – paragraph 2 f (new) 2f. Where the products contain substances meeting the criteria for the hazard classes laid down in Annex I to Regulation (EC) 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council110c, whether on their own, in mixtures or in an article, such products are not eligible for environmental claims. __________________ 110c Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006
Amendment 127 #
Proposal for a directive Article 4 – paragraph 3 3. The requirements laid down in this Article shall not apply to traders that are microenterprises within the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC111 unless they request the verification with the aim of receiving the certificate of conformity in accordance with Article 10.
Amendment 128 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 1 1. Member States shall ensure that a trader is required to communicate an explicit environmental claim in accordance with the requirements set out in this Article. Member States shall ensure that the disclosure of the required data and information does not interfere with a company’s intellectual property or reveal confidential or sensitive business information.
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 1 1. Member States shall ensure that a trader is required to communicate an explicit environmental claim in accordance with the requirements set out in this Article.
Amendment 13 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 4 (4) It is therefore necessary to harmonise further the regulation of environmental claims. Such harmonisation will strengthen the market for more sustainable products and traders by avoiding market fragmentation due to diverging national approaches. It will also set a benchmark that can drive the global transition to a just, climate-neutral, resource-efficient and circular economy
Amendment 130 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Explicit environmental claim made by traders about a single product does not apply to any other product, business-to- consumer commercial practice and communication, or practices and communication of a trader overall and vice versa, without substantiating each of those individual claims at product or trader level independently.
Amendment 131 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 4 4.
Amendment 132 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Explicit environmental claims based on greenhouse gas emissions offsetting which claim that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, shall be prohibited.
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 5 5. Explicit environmental claims on the cumulative environmental impacts of a product or trader based on an aggregated indicator of environmental impacts can be made only
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – introductory part That information shall include
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point c (c) the underlying studies or calculations used to assess, measure and monitor the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance covered by the claim,
Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point c (c) the underlying studies or calculations used to assess, measure and monitor the overall environmental footprint, the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance covered by the claim, without omitting the results of such studies or calculations and, explanations of their scope, assumptions and limitations, unless the information is a trade secret in line with Article 2 paragraph 1 of Directive (EU) 2016/943112 ; __________________ 112 Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the
Amendment 137 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point f Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point f (f) for climate-related explicit environmental claims that rely on greenhouse gas emission offsets inside the company’s value chain, information to which extent they rely on these limited offsets and whether these relate to emissions reductions or removals;
Amendment 139 #
Proposal for a directive Article 5 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point f a (new) (fa) g. information on carbon removal certificates and the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), that is in line with the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and able to certify reliable claims
Amendment 14 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 5 (5) Detailed Union rules on substantiation of explicit environmental claims, applicable to companies operating on the Union market in business to consumer communication, will contribute to the green transition towards a circular, climate-neutral and clean economy in the
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a directive Article 6 – paragraph 1 Comparative environmental claims shall
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a directive Article 7 – paragraph 2 2. Only environmental labels awarded under environmental labelling schemes established under Union law may present a rating or score of a product or trader based on an aggregated indicator of environmental impacts of a product or trader. This paragraph shall apply to all environmental labels presenting a rating or score of a product or trader, including those run by economic and non-economic operators.
Amendment 142 #
Proposal for a directive Article 7 – paragraph 2 2. Only environmental labels awarded under environmental labelling schemes
Amendment 143 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 1 (1) Environmental labelling scheme means a certification scheme which certifies that a product, a product-related process or a trader complies with the requirements for an environmental label.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point d (d) the requirements for the environmental labelling scheme have been developed by experts that can ensure their scientific robustness and have been submitted for consultation to a heterogeneous group of stakeholders that has reviewed them and ensured their relevance from a societal perspective; the methodology is made public;
Amendment 145 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point d (d) the requirements for the environmental labelling scheme have been developed by experts that can ensure their scientific robustness and have been submitted for consultation to
Amendment 146 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point f (f) the environmental labelling scheme
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point f a (new) (fa) the environmental labelling scheme regularly reviews its objectives, its strategies, and the performance of its tools and systems, based on the latest best practices, scientific data and evidence.
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Member States may, however, set up new national or regional environmental labelling schemes for types or categories of products for at least one of the following reasons: the protection of public health; the protection of consumers; the prevention of fraud; the protection of organically produced agri- foodstuffs; the protection of industrial and commercial property rights, indications of provenance, indications of origin and the prevention of unfair competition.
Amendment 149 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 From [OP: Please insert the date = the date of transposition of this Directive] no new
Amendment 15 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 8 (8) The specific needs of individual economic sectors should be recognised and this Directive should therefore apply to voluntary explicit environmental claims and environmental labelling schemes that are not regulated by any other Union act as regards their substantiation or communication, or verification. This Directive should therefore not apply to explicit environmental claims for which the Union legislation lays down specific rules, including on methodological frameworks, assessment or accounting rules related to measuring and calculating the overall environmental footprint, the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of products or traders, or providing mandatory and non-
Amendment 150 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 4 4. From [OP: Please insert the date = the date of transposition of this Directive] any new environmental labelling schemes established by public authorities in third countries awarding environmental labels to be used on the Union market, shall be subject to approval by the Commission prior to entering the Union market with the aim of ensuring that these labels provide
Amendment 151 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 Member States shall ensure that environmental labelling schemes established by private operators after [OP: Please insert the date = the date of transposition of this Directive] are only approved if those schemes provide added value in terms of their environmental ambition, including notably their extent of coverage of the overall environmental footprint, the environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance, or of a certain product group or sector and their ability to support the green transition of SMEs, as compared to the existing Union, national or regional schemes referred to in paragraph 3, and meet the requirements of this Directive.
Amendment 152 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 3 a (new) – Private environmental labelling schemes established prior to that date may continue to award the environmental labels on the Union market, provided they meet the requirements of this Directive. Carbon certification schemes established under Regulation (EU) .../2023 [of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a Union certification framework for carbon removals] may also be approved as environmental labelling schemes, provided that they comply with the requirements set under this Directive.
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 The documents referred to in the first subparagraph shall be made publicly available and shall be submitted to the Commission in case of schemes referred to in paragraph 4 or to the Member States’ authorities in case of schemes referred to in paragraph 5, together with the certificate of conformity for environmental labelling schemes drawn up in accordance with Article 10.
Amendment 154 #
Proposal for a directive Article 8 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part In order to ensure a uniform application across the Union, the Commission shall adopt within 12 months after the adoption of this Directive implementing acts to:
Amendment 155 #
Proposal for a directive Article 9 – paragraph 1 Member States shall ensure that the information used for substantiation of explicit environmental claims is reviewed and updated by traders
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a directive Article 9 – paragraph 1 Member States shall ensure that the information, tools and methodologies used for substantiation of explicit environmental claims is reviewed and updated by traders when there are circumstances that may affect the accuracy of a claim, and no later than 5 years from the date when the information referred to in Article 5(6) is provided. In the review, the trader shall revise the used underlying information to ensure that the requirements of Articles 3 and 4 are fully complied with.
Amendment 157 #
Proposal for a directive Article 10 – paragraph 2 2. Member States shall set up procedures for verifying the compliance of environmental labelling schemes with the requirements set out in Article 8. The Commission shall verify those procedures to guarantee harmonisation in the Union market.
Amendment 158 #
Proposal for a directive Article 10 – paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Member States shall put in place simplified procedures for verifying the veracity and communication of explicit environmental declarations by traders that are small and medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC in respect of the requirements set out in Articles 3 to 7.
Amendment 159 #
Proposal for a directive Article 10 – paragraph 3 3. The verification and certification requirements shall apply to traders that are microenterprises within the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC only if they so request. Member States shall provide for simplified verification and certification procedures for micro-enterprises to lighten the associated administrative and bureaucratic burdens.
Amendment 16 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 9 (9)
Amendment 160 #
Proposal for a directive Article 10 – paragraph 4 4. The verification of the information, tools and methodologies shall be undertaken
Amendment 161 #
Proposal for a directive Article 10 – paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Upon the request of the operator of the environmental labelling scheme, the verifier shall assess the compliance of the scheme with Articles 7 and 8, within 60 days upon reception of all relevant documents defined in implementing acts referred to in paragraph 10. Once verified, traders can display the label issued by the scheme without additional verifications steps.
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a directive Article 10 – paragraph 9 9.
Amendment 163 #
Proposal for a directive Article 10 – paragraph 9 9.
Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a directive Article 10 – paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Within 12 months after the official publication of this Directive, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts to set out details regarding the documents to be provided for the verification of substantiation methods.
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a directive Article 10 – paragraph 9 b (new) 9b. To support traders in carrying out the verification and certification procedure referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the Commission shall publish within 24 months from the entry into force of the Directive and keep up-to-date a list of the accredited verifiers.
Amendment 166 #
Proposal for a directive Article 11 – paragraph 1 1. The verifier shall be a third-party conformity assessment body accredited in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008
Amendment 167 #
Proposal for a directive Article 11 – paragraph 3 – point e (e) the verifier shall have a sufficient number of suitably qualified and experienced personnel responsible for carrying out the verification tasks; including experience in life-cycle assessments and sufficient knowledge of the traders’ respective activities;
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a directive Article 12 – title Amendment 169 #
Proposal for a directive Article 12 – paragraph 1 – introductory part Amendment 17 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 9 (9) Within the context of the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy, and in accordance with the target of achieving 25% of EU agricultural land under organic farming by 2030 and a significant increase in organic aquaculture and with the Action Plan on the Development of Organic Production (COM(2021) 141), organic farming and organic production need to be developed further, ensuring support, for small and medium sized enterprises in particular, so that they can contribute to this. As regards Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council 73
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a directive Article 12 – paragraph 1 – introductory part Member States, in cooperation with the Commission, shall take appropriate measures to help micro, small and medium sized enterprises to apply the requirements set out in this Directive. Those measures shall at least include guidelines
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a directive Article 12 – paragraph 1 – introductory part The European Union and the Member States shall take appropriate measures to help small and medium sized enterprises apply the requirements set out in this Directive. Those measures shall at least include technical assistance, guidelines or similar mechanisms to raise awareness of ways to comply with the requirements on explicit environmental claims. In addition, without prejudice to applicable state aid rules, such measures may include:
Amendment 172 #
Proposal for a directive Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point c (c) speci
Amendment 173 #
Proposal for a directive Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point d (d)
Amendment 174 #
Proposal for a directive Article 12 – paragraph 1 a (new) Most small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) do not have the expertise or the resources needed to deal with applications for information relating to environmental performance throughout a product's lifecycle and the overall environmental footprint. Member States and industry association should therefore provide continuous support to SMEs.
Amendment 175 #
Proposal for a directive Article 13 – paragraph 1 1. Member States shall designate one
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a directive Article 14 – paragraph 2 – introductory part 2. The powers conferred on competent authorities under paragraph 1 shall include
Amendment 177 #
Proposal for a directive Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point a (a) the power of access to any relevant documents, data or information related to an infringement of this Directive, in any form or format and irrespective of their storage medium, or the place where they are stored, complying with the rules in force concerning the protection of know- how and trade secrets, and the power to take or obtain copies thereof;
Amendment 178 #
Proposal for a directive Article 14 – paragraph 3 (3) Competent authorities may use any information, document, finding, statement or intelligence as evidence for the purpose of their investigations, irrespective of the format in which or medium on which they are stored, complying with the rules on the protection of personal data, know-how and trade secrets.
Amendment 179 #
Proposal for a directive Article 15 – paragraph 3 3. Where, further to the evaluation referred to in the first subparagraph, the competent authorities find that the substantiation and communication of the explicit environmental claim or the environmental labelling scheme does not comply with the requirements laid down in this Directive, they shall notify the trader making the claim about the non- compliance prior to publishing the report mentioned in article 15(1) and require that trader to take all appropriate corrective action within 30 days to bring the explicit environmental claim or the environmental labelling scheme into compliance with this Directive or to cease the use of and references to the non-compliant explicit environmental claim. Such action shall be as effective and rapid as possible, while complying with the principle of proportionality and the right to be heard.
Amendment 18 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 14 (14) The proposal for a Directive on empowering consumers for the green transition which amends Directive 2005/29/EC, sets out a number of specific requirements on environmental claims and prohibits generic environmental claims which are not based on recognised
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a directive Article 16 Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a directive Article 16 Amendment 182 #
Proposal for a directive Article 16 – paragraph 2 2. For the purposes of the first subparagraph, non-governmental entities or organisations promoting
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a directive Article 16 a (new) Article 16a Consultation Forum The Commission shall ensure that when it conducts its activities, it observes a balanced participation of Member States’ representatives and all relevant interested parties involved in the development of secondary legislation on explicit environmental claims, such as industry, including SMEs and craft industry, farmers, trade unions, traders, retailers, importers, environmental protection groups and consumer organisations. Those parties shall contribute, in particular, to preparing the delegated acts referred to in paragraph 4 of Article 3.
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a directive Article 17 – paragraph 2 – point c (c) the financial strength of the natural or legal person held responsible, as indicated for example by the total turnover of the legal person held responsible or the annual income of the natural person held responsible, taking also into account the inability to adapt, particularly for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), agricultural cooperatives and small farms that lack the expertise and resources needed to deal with applications for information relating to environmental performance throughout a product's lifecycle and the overall environmental footprint;
Amendment 185 #
Proposal for a directive Article 17 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new) (da) damage incurred as a result of an infringement
Amendment 186 #
Proposal for a directive Article 17 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point a (a) fines which effectively deprive
Amendment 187 #
Proposal for a directive Article 17 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a directive Article 17 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b Amendment 189 #
Proposal for a directive Article 17 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point c Amendment 19 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 15 (15) In order to ensure that consumers are provided with reliable, comparable and verifiable information which enables them to make more environmentally sustainable
Amendment 190 #
Proposal for a directive Article 17 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point c (c) temporary exclusion for a maximum period of 12 months from public procurement processes and for a maximum period of 36 months from public procurement processes in the case of a Green Public Procurement (GPP) process as defined in COM/2008/0400 and from access to public funding, including tendering procedures, grants and concessions.
Amendment 191 #
Proposal for a directive Article 17 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point c a (new) (ca) fines for natural or legal person who falsely claims that environmental claims made by a trader that comply with this Directive can be deemed as ‘greenwashing’
Amendment 192 #
Proposal for a directive Article 21 – paragraph 2 Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a directive Article 21 – paragraph 2 – point e (e) strengthening the functioning of the internal market, developing tailored approaches for each sector and category of product, activity and service in accordance with the requirements of environmental footprint methods, bearing in mind the need to deal with the specific characteristics of complex products, flexible supply chains and dynamic markets.
Amendment 194 #
Proposal for a directive Article 21 – paragraph 3 Amendment 195 #
Proposal for a directive Article 21 – paragraph 3 – point a (a) unlocking opportunities for the circular, bio and green economy by assessing the appropriateness and feasibility of mandating the use of common, and where relevant life-cycle based, method for substantiation of environmental claims, including the overall environmental footprint;
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a directive Article 21 – paragraph 3 – point a (a) unlocking opportunities for the circular, bio and green economy by assessing the appropriateness and feasibility of
Amendment 197 #
Proposal for a directive Article 21 – paragraph 3 – point b (b) facilitating transition towards toxic free environment by considering introducing a prohibition of environmental claims for products containing hazardous substances except where the demonstration of safe usage can be established through other existing legal stipulations in Union law, or their use is considered essential for the society in line with the criteria to be developed by the Commission;
Amendment 198 #
Proposal for a directive Article 21 – paragraph 3 – point c (c) further harmonisation as regards requirements on the substantiation of
Amendment 199 #
Proposal for a directive Article 21 – paragraph 3 – point c a (new) (ca) As part of the evaluation and review referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, and to ensure a level playing field among traders, the European Commission shall undertake an impact assessment of the measures established for micro, small and medium sized enterprises in Articles 4, 5, 10 and 12, and consider their review after the Directive is implemented.
Amendment 20 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 16 (16) The assessment made to substantiate explicit environmental claims needs to consider the full or partial life- cycle of the product or of the overall activities of the trader and should not omit any relevant environmental aspects or environmental impacts, taking into consideration long-term business strategies, and all positive externalities of all production systems. The benefits claimed should not result in an unjustified transfer of negative impacts to other stages of the life cycle of a product or trader, or to the creation or increase of other negative environmental impacts.
Amendment 200 #
Proposal for a directive Article 25 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 Member States shall adopt and publish by [OP please insert the date =
Amendment 201 #
Proposal for a directive Article 25 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 They shall apply those measures from [OP please insert the date =
Amendment 202 #
Proposal for a directive Article 25 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 They shall apply those measures from [OP please insert the date =
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a directive Article 25 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 They shall apply those measures from [OP
Amendment 21 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 16 (16) The assessment made to substantiate explicit environmental claims needs to consider the life-cycle of the product
Amendment 22 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 18 (18) In line with Directive 2005/29/EC as amended by the proposal for a Directive on empowering consumers for the green transition, the trader should not present requirements imposed by law on products within a given product category as a distinctive feature of the trader’s offer or advertise benefits for consumers that are considered as common practice in the relevant market. The information used to substantiate explicit environmental claims should therefore make it possible to identify the product’s
Amendment 23 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 19 (19) It would be misleading to consumers if an explicit environmental claim pointed to the benefits in terms of environmental impacts or environmental aspects while omitting that the achievement of those benefits leads to negative trade-offs on other environmental impacts or environmental aspects. To this end the information used to substantiate explicit environmental claims should ensure that the interlinkages between the relevant environmental impacts and
Amendment 24 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 19 (19) It would be misleading to consumers if an explicit environmental claim pointed to the benefits in terms of environmental impacts or environmental
Amendment 25 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 20 (20) This Directive establishes minimum criteria for substantiation and communication of voluntary environmental claims and environmental labelling in business to consumer commercial practices within the Union. The terminology set out in this Directive is not a standard methodology for substantiation of environmental claims. In order for the environmental claim to be considered robust, it should reflect as accurately as possible the environmental performance of the specific product or trader. The information used to substantiate explicit environmental claims therefore needs to include primary, company- specific data for relevant aspects contributing significantly to the environmental performance of the product or trader referred to in the claim. It is necessary to strike the right balance between ensuring relevant and robust information for substantiating environmental claims and the efforts needed to gather primary information. The requirement to use primary information should be considered in the light of the influence the trader making the claim has over the respective process and of the availability of primary information. If the process is not run by the trader making the claim and primary information is not available, accurate secondary information should be able to be used even for processes that contribute significantly to the environmental performance of the product or trader. This is especially relevant to not disadvantage SMEs and to keep the efforts needed to acquire primary data at a proportionate level. Moreover, the relevant environmental aspects are different for each type of environmental claim. For instance, for claims on recycled or bio-based content, the composition of the product should be covered by primary data. For claims on being environmentally less polluting in a certain life cycle stage, information on emissions and environmental impacts related to that life cycle stage should include primary data as well. Both primary data and secondary data, i.e. average data, should show a high
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 20 a (new) (20a) In the case of environmental claims regarding a group of traders, as opposed to an individual trader, the assessment substantiating the claim should take into account the feasibility of gathering data for an important number of traders. No company-specific date shall be required in this specific case.
Amendment 27 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 21 (21) Climate-related claims have been shown to be particularly prone to being unclear and ambiguous and to mislead consumers. This relates notably to environmental claims that products or entities are “climate neutral”, “carbon
Amendment 28 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 21 (21) Climate-related claims have been shown to be particularly prone to being unclear and ambiguous and to mislead consumers. This relates notably to environmental claims that products or entities are “climate neutral”, “carbon neutral”, “100% CO2 compensated”, or will be “net-zero” by a given year, or similar. Such statements are often based on “offsetting” of greenhouse gas emissions through “carbon credits” generated outside the company’s value chain, for example from forestry or renewable energy projects. The methodologies underpinning offsets vary widely and are not always transparent, accurate, or consistent. This leads to significant risks of overestimations and double counting of avoided or reduced emissions, due to a lack of additionality, permanence, ambitious and dynamic crediting baselines that depart from business as usual, and accurate accounting. These factors result in offset credits of low environmental integrity and credibility that mislead consumers when they are relied upon in explicit environmental claims. Offsetting can also deter traders from emissions reductions in their own operations and value chains. In order to adequately contribute to global climate
Amendment 29 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 22 (22) Traders are more and more interested in making environmental claims related to future environmental performance of a product or trader, including by joining initiatives that are promoting practices which could be
Amendment 30 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 23 (23) The information used to substantiate explicit environmental claims should be science based, and any lack of consideration of certain environmental impacts or environmental aspects should be carefully considered.
Amendment 31 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 23 (23) The information used to substantiate explicit environmental claims should be science based and up-to-date, and any lack of consideration of certain environmental impacts or environmental aspects should be carefully considered. This approach ensures that environmental claims are based on scientific fact and that the environmental impact is accurately assessed.
Amendment 32 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 26 a (new) (26a) Widely recognised scientific evidence indicates that the assessment of a claim should be based on methodologies, approaches or studies that have been developed in line with best practices in terms of transparency and independently peer reviewed by the scientific community, published in scientific journals and, where available, take account of the existing international standards that are relevant to the claim that is made, such as ISO or CEN/CENELEC standards.
Amendment 33 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 28 (28) When setting up the requirements for substantiation and communication and verification of explicit environmental claims, including by delegated acts adopted by the Commission, the difficulties that traders may encounter in gathering information from actors throughout their value chain or on the product’s overall life- cycle, especially for services or where there is insufficient scientific evidence, should be taken into account. This is important for example for services such as electronic communications services, for which it can be difficult to define the scope and system boundaries, e.g. where the life- cycle starts and where it finishes and even more where supply chains are complex and not stable, e.g. in cases where many equipment or components are manufactured by a multitude of enterprises outside the EU, and thus sustainability related information might not be easily accessible to EU traders concerned.
Amendment 34 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 28 (28) When setting up the requirements for substantiation
Amendment 35 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 30 (30) While unfair commercial practices, including misleading environmental claims, are prohibited for all traders pursuant to Directive 2005/29/EC84
Amendment 36 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 31 (31) In order to meet both the needs of traders regarding dynamic marketing strategies and the needs of consumers regarding more detailed, and more accurate, environmental information, the Commission may adopt delegated acts to supplement the provisions on substantiation of explicit environmental claims by further specifying the criteria for such substantiation with regard to certain claims (e.g. climate-related claims, including claims about offsets, “climate neutrality” or similar, recyclability and recycled content). The Commission should be empowered to further establish rules for measuring and calculating the environmental impacts, environmental aspects and environmental performance, by determining which activities, processes, materials, emissions or use of a product or trader contribute significantly or cannot
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 31 (31) In order to meet both the needs of traders regarding dynamic marketing strategies and the needs of consumers regarding more detailed, and more accurate, environmental information, the Commission may adopt delegated acts to supplement the provisions on substantiation of explicit environmental claims by further specifying the criteria for such substantiation with regard to certain claims (e.g. climate-related claims,
Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 31 (31) In order to meet both the needs of traders regarding dynamic marketing strategies and the needs of consumers regarding more detailed, and more accurate, environmental information, the Commission
Amendment 39 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 32 (32) The Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279 contains guidance on how
Amendment 40 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 32 (32) The Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279 contains guidance on how to measure the life cycle environmental performance of specific products or organisations and how to develop Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) and Organisation Environmental Footprint Sectorial Rules (OEFSRs) that allow comparison of products to a benchmark. Such category rules for specific products or traders can be used to support the substantiation of claims in line with the requirements of this Directive. Therefore, the Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts to establish product group or sector specific rules where this may have added value. However, in case the Product Environmental Footprint method does not yet cover an impact category, which is relevant for a product group, the adoption of PEFCR may take place only once these new relevant environmental impact categories have been added. The Commission should consult industry stakeholders in the process of determining the impact categories and associated methodologies to be added to the Product Environmental Footprint. For example, as regards marine fisheries, the PEFCR should for example reflect the fisheries- specific environmental impact categories, in particular the sustainability of the targeted stock. Concerning space, the PEFCR should reflect defence and space- specific environmental impact categories, including the orbital space use. As regards food and agricultural products, biodiversity and nature protection, as well as farming practices, including positive externalities of extensive farming
Amendment 41 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 32 (32) The Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279 contains guidance on how to measure the life cycle environmental performance of specific products or organisations and how to develop Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) and Organisation Environmental Footprint Sectorial Rules (OEFSRs) that allow comparison of products to a benchmark. Such category rules for specific products or traders can be used to support the substantiation of claims in line with the requirements of this Directive. Therefore, the Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts to establish product group or sector specific rules where this may have added value. However, in case the Product Environmental Footprint method does not yet cover an impact category, which is relevant for a product group, the adoption of PEFCR may take place only once these new relevant environmental impact categories have been added. For example, as regards marine fisheries, the PEFCR should for example reflect the fisheries- specific environmental impact categories, in particular the sustainability of the targeted stock. Concerning space, the PEFCR should reflect defence and space- specific environmental impact categories,
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 32 (32) The Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279 contains guidance on how to measure the life cycle environmental performance of specific products or organisations and how to develop Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) and Organisation Environmental Footprint Sectorial Rules (OEFSRs) that allow comparison of products to a benchmark. Such category rules for specific products or traders can be used to support the substantiation of claims in line with the requirements of this Directive. Therefore, the Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts to establish product group or sector specific rules where this may have added value. However, in case the Product Environmental Footprint method does not yet cover an impact category, which is relevant for a product group, the adoption of PEFCR may take place only once these new relevant environmental impact categories have been added. For example,
Amendment 43 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 35 (35) In order to facilitate consumers’ choices of more sustainable products and to incentivise efforts of traders to lower their environmental impacts, when the claim communicated relates to future environmental performance, it should as a priority be based on improvements inside trader’s own operations and value chains rather than relying on offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions or other environmental impacts. This approach ensures a real commitment to sustainability and to reducing dependence on solutions that could be considered as mere corrective or compensation measures.
Amendment 44 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 35 (35) In order to facilitate consumers’ choices of more sustainable products and to incentivise efforts of traders to lower their environmental impacts, when the claim communicated relates to future environmental performance, it should as a priority be based on improvements inside trader’s own operations and value chains rather than relying on offsetting of greenhouse has emissions or other environmental impacts. Thus, allowing for communication on long-term business strategies.
Amendment 45 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 43 (43) In order to combat misleading explicit environmental claims communicated in the form of environmental labels and increase consumer trust in environmental labels, this Directive should establish common governance criteria that ensure uniformity and clarity and that all environmental labelling schemes are to comply with, to help consumers make informed decisions, fully aware of the facts, complementing thus the requirements set in the said proposal amending Directive 2005/29/EC.
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 45 (45) In order not to create unnecessary barriers to international trade
Amendment 47 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 47 (47) In order to provide legal certainty
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 47 a (new) (47a) Regular revisions of environmental labelling schemes are of fundamental importance in order to ensure their continuous improvement. For this reason, this Directive should ensure that the verification and certification of the substantiation and communication of environmental labelling schemes ensures their continuous improvement.
Amendment 49 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 49 (49) It is essential that explicit environmental claims reflect correctly the environmental performance and environmental impacts covered by the claim, and consider the latest scientific evidence, without, however, introducing disproportionate administrative and financial burdens for companies, especially for small and medium enterprises. Member States should therefore ensure that the trader making the claim reviews and updates the substantiation and communication of the claims at least every 5 years to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Directive
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 52 (52) In order to provide traders with legal certainty across the internal market as regards compliance of the explicit environmental claims with the requirements of this Directive, the certificate of conformity should be automatically recognised by the competent authorities across the Union. Microenterprises should be allowed to request such certificate if they wish to certify their claims in line with the requirements of this Directive and benefit from the certificate’s recognition across the Union. The certificate of conformity should however not prejudge the assessment of the environmental claim by the public authorities or courts which
Amendment 51 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 52 a (new) (52a) With a view to facilitating compliance with all the requirements of this Directive, Member States should provide for simplified procedures for micro-enterprises so as to lighten the associated administrative and bureaucratic burdens.
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 54 (54) Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should be able to benefit from the opportunities provided by the market for more sustainable products but they could face proportionately higher costs and difficulties in complying with some of the requirements on substantiation and verification of explicit environmental claims. The EU and Member States should provide adequate information and raise awareness of the ways to comply with the requirements of this Directive, ensure targeted and specialised training, and provide specific assistance and support, including financial, to SMEs wishing to
Amendment 53 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 54 (54)
Amendment 54 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 54 a (new) (54a) To help micro, small and medium- sized enterprises to apply the rules of this Directive, the European Commission should provide targeted and specialised training, as well as information campaigns to raise companies’ awareness of both how to use these instruments and the specific assistance and support available.
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 60 (60) When competent authorities detect an infringement of requirements of this Directive they should carry out an evaluation and based on its results notify the trader about the infringement detected and require that corrective actions are taken by the trader. To minimise the misleading effect on consumers of the non- compliant explicit environmental claim or non-compliant environmental labelling scheme, the trader should be required by the competent authorities to take an effective and rapid action to remediate that infringement. The corrective action required should be proportionate to the infringement detected, the size of the company and its expected harmful effects on the consumers.
Amendment 56 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 60 (60) When competent authorities detect an infringement of requirements of this Directive they should carry out an evaluation and based on its results notify the trader about the infringement detected and require that corrective actions are taken by the trader. To minimise the misleading effect on consumers of the non- compliant explicit environmental claim or non-compliant environmental labelling scheme, the trader should be required by the competent authorities to take an effective and rapid action to remediate that infringement. The corrective action required should be proportionate to the infringement detected and its
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 62 (62) Competent authorities should also carry out checks of explicit environmental claims on the Union market when in possession of and based on relevant information, including substantiated concerns submitted by third parties. Third parties submitting a concern should be able to demonstrate
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 63 (63) In order to ensure that traders are effectively dissuaded from non-compliance with the requirements of this Directive, Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Directive and ensure that those rules are directly proportional to the damage caused and that they are implemented. The penalties provided for should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. To facilitate a more consistent application of penalties, it is necessary to establish common non- exhaustive criteria for determining the types and levels of penalties to be imposed in case of infringements, in relation to the damage caused. That criteria should include, inter alia, the nature and gravity of the infringement, the damage caused by the infringement, as well as the economic benefits derived from the infringement in order to ensure that those responsible are deprived of those benefits.
Amendment 59 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 64 (64) When setting penalties and measures for infringements, the Member
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 65 (65) When adopting delegated acts pursuant to Article 290 TFEU, it is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work,
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a directive Recital 66 (66) In order to assess the performance of the legislation against the objectives that it pursues, the Commission should carry out a
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a directive Article 1 – paragraph -1 (new) -1. The purpose of this Directive is to provide for a high level of consumer and environmental protection by approximating the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States related to environmental claims made on or with reference to products made available on the market or to traders making available products on the market.
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a directive Article 1 – paragraph 1 1. This Directive applies to explicit environmental claims made by traders about products or traders in business-to- consumer commercial practices. This Directive does not apply to any business- to-business commercial practices.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a directive Article 1 – paragraph 2 – introductory part 2. This Directive does not apply to environmental labelling schemes or to explicit environmental claims regulated by or substantiated and verified by rules established in:
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a directive Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b (b) Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council96 , unless the comparative explicit claim relates to a product complying with the requirements of Regulation 2018/848 vis- à-vis a like-product which does not fall within the scope of the above-mentioned Regulation. __________________ 96 Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a directive Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b (b) Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council96
Amendment 68 #
Proposal for a directive Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point k (k)
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a directive Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point o a (new) (oa) Regulations (EU) 2021/2115, 2021/2116, 2021/2117 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and legislative acts based on those Regulations;
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a directive Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point o b (new) Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a directive Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point p (p) other existing or future Union rules setting out the conditions under which certain explicit environmental claims about certain products or traders may be or are to be made or Union rules laying down requirements on the assessment or communication of the overall environmental footprint, of environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance of certain products or traders or conditions for environmental labelling schemes.
Amendment 72 #
Proposal for a directive Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point p a (new) Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a directive Article 1 a (new) Article 1a Large cross border businesses Traders falling within the scope of the proposal for a Council Directive on Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation (BEFIT)1 placing products of the same category on the market in more than one EU Member States or in both EU and non-EU countries and use environmental claim for any of those products shall comply with the same requirements in all markets.
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a directive Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1 (1) ‘environmental decla
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a directive Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 (2) ‘explicit environmental claim’ means an environmental claim that is in textual form or contained in an environmental label or in a form of their digital alternatives;
Amendment 76 #
Proposal for a directive Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 (2) ‘explicit environmental claim’ means an environmental claim that is in textual form, or symbolic form, or contained in an environmental label;
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a directive Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 (2) ‘explicit environmental decla
Amendment 78 #
Proposal for a directive Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3 (3) ‘trader’ means trader as defined in Article 2, point (b), of Directive 2005/29/EC, excluding cooperatives and professional organisations;
Amendment 79 #
Proposal for a directive Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3 (3) ‘trader’ means trader as defined in Article 2, point (b), of Directive 2005/29/EC, excluding cooperatives and trade associations;
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a directive Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3 (3) ‘trader’ means trader as defined in Article 2, point (b), of Directive 2005/29/EC, excluding cooperatives and trade associations;
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a directive Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a directive Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 (8) ‘environmental label’ means a sustainability label covering only or predominantly or significant environmental aspects of a product, a process or a trader;
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a directive Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 (8) ‘environmental label’ means a sustainability label covering
Amendment 84 #
Proposal for a directive Article 2 a (new) Article2a Rules on the use of carbon farming units Carbon farming sequestration units and carbon farming emission reduction units certified under Regulation (EU) .../2023 [of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a Union certification framework for carbon removals] may be used for making claims and claims based on offsets under this Directive, without prejudice to the provisions set out in Annex I to the Directive 2005/29/EC as amended by Directive (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council [Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition] and provisions to be set out in the Regulation (EU) .../2023 [of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a Union certification framework for carbon removals].
Amendment 85 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – introductory part 1. Member States shall ensure that traders carry out an assessment to substantiate explicit environmental claims. This assessment shall be strictly relevant to the substantiation of the respective claim and shall include:
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b (b) rely on widely recognised scientific evidence, use accurate information and take into account relevant international standards, such as those established by the International Organization for Standardization;
Amendment 87 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b (b) rely on widely recognised scientific evidence, including methods assessed and validated by the European Commission, use accurate information and take into account relevant international standards;
Amendment 88 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b (b) rely on widely recognised peer- reviewed scientific evidence, use accurate information and take into account relevant international standards;
Amendment 89 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c (c) demonstrate that environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance that are subject to the claim are significant from a life- cycle perspective, taking into consideration long-term business strategies, and all positive externalities of all production systems;
Amendment 90 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c (c) demonstrate that environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance that are subject to the claim are significant from a life- cycle perspective; including long-term strategies, and other positive externalities of production systems;
Amendment 91 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c (c) demonstrate that environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance that are subject to the claim are significant from a product, service, activity, organisation and business life-
Amendment 92 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c (c) demonstrate that environmental impacts, environmental aspects or environmental performance that are subject to the claim are significant from a life- cycle perspective as defined in ISO 14040:2006;
Amendment 93 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new) (ca) For product categories which have developed a Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR), existing PEFCR may be used as a benchmark;
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point d (d) where a claim is made on environmental performance, take into account all environmental aspects or environmental impacts which are significant to assessing the environmental performance, based on an overall assessment carried out throughout the life cycle (‘environmental footprint’);
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point d (d)
Amendment 96 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e (e) demonstrate that the claim is not equivalent to requirements imposed by law on products within the product group, or traders within the sector, provided that they go further than basic standards applied to imported products or common practices related to those products. When it comes to agriculture related claims, they should demonstrate that they go beyond standards for good agricultural and environmental condition of land (GAECs) and Statutory management requirement (SMR) as defined in Regulation (EU) 2115/2021, applicable at the level of operator. Agricultural practices committed under schemes for the climate, the environment and animal welfare (‘eco-schemes’) under the conditions set out in Regulation (EU) 2115/2021 represent eligible and verifiable claims as set out in this Regulation;
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e (e) demonstrate that the decla
Amendment 98 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e (e) demonstrate that the claim is not equivalent to requirements imposed by law on products within the product group, or traders within the sector. Existing PEFCR may be used as benchmark, if available;
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a directive Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e (e) demonstrate that the claim
source: 754.872
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