Empowering Consumers and Businesses in the Green Transition: Navigating EU Policy on Green Claims

Event Description

Following the adoption of EU legislation on Empowering Consumers, which is already in force and will be applicable as from September 2026, the European Commission also proposed a Directive on Green Claims that lays out minimum norms that companies should be following when making environmental claims.  These rules are related to the substantiation, communication and verification of claims and environmental labels.  This proposal has reached phase of the trialogues between European Parliament and Council. 

Both proposals are part of the European Green Deal and enable the creation of a sustainable product policy framework that empowers consumers to make informed choices and avoid greenwashing. The EU legislators have now, during the interinstitutional negotiations, the last opportunity to agree upon rules that combine the respect for the environment with incentives to innovation and sustainable production practices, fair and transparent accountability and clear consumer information. 

Join this EFF event to discuss how to empower both consumers and businesses in the green transition. The participating speakers will offer different viewpoints on how best to establish a clear and solid framework to ensure that sustainability claims and labels are properly substantiated. Expect this debate to touch on practical aspects of the proposed green claims legislation, such as transition periods, trade - offs and unintended consequences, global supply chains and products’ circulation within the EU Single Market. 

The EFF event will answer the following question: 

• What have the challenges in the fight against greenwashing been so far and how can this further be tackled?  

• How can we ensure consumer protection whilst ensuring food companies remain competitive as they invest and communicate on their sustainability journey? 

• How can the European Commission’s proposal on the Green Claims Directive be improved in order to make it more pragmatic and workable for business, e.g. in terms of verification, date of application and transition periods for existing product labels. 

• How will it affect local and small-scale producers in the EU?  

• What resources are required in order to create a level playing field and a fairer system for everyone? 

Agenda

Moderator: Caroline Ploux – Senior Manager Public Affairs Europe, Mars 

16h00 - 16h10 Opening remarks by MEP Stefano Cavedagna and MEP Pietro Fiocchi 

16h10 - 17h00 Panel 1. Informing consumers across the EU on environmental aspects of products 

• MEP Stefano Cavedagna - Shadow Rapporteur, IMCO 

• Blanca Morales – Senior Advisor on Sustainability, BEUC 

• Massimiliano Di Domenico - Vice-President, Communications and Government Affairs for Europe, Mondelēz International 

• Emilie Bourgoin - Group Director Public Affairs, Rewe Group 

Q&A 

17h00- 17h50 Panel 2. Environmental protection, competitiveness and innovation: trade-off or synergy? 

• MEP Pietro Fiocchi – Shadow Rapporteur, ENVI 

• Sybe de Vries – Full Professor of Public Economic Law, Utrecht University 

• John Newton - Director, The Carbon Trust 

• Agnese Ruggiero – Senior Manager, Climate and Food, FoodDrinkEurope 

Q&A 

17h50 – 18h00  Closing remarks by MEPs Pietro Fiocchi and Stefano Cavedagna