EmpCo-compliant Labelling
EmpCo – more clarity with the RAL Quality Mark
RAL Quality Marks provide legally compliant guidance
The EU is tightening the rules against greenwashing and misleading environmental claims with the Empowering Consumers Directive (EmpCo for short). Vague promises such as ‘climate-neutral’, ‘environmentally friendly’ or ‘green’, as well as in-house sustainability labels, will be subject to significant legal restrictions. This creates an urgent need for companies that have previously used their own sustainability labels to take action. RAL Quality Marks offer a legally compliant alternative, with their underlying independent, transparent and recognised labelling system.
In Germany, the requirements of the EmpCo Directive will be transposed into national law via the UWG Amendment Act, which will come into force on 27 September 2026.
What changes will the EmpCo Directive bring?
- Sustainability labels will be deemed inadmissible unless they are based on a recognised certification system with transparent, objective and verifiable criteria, or unless they have been established by the state.
- In the future, environmental claims that are not supported by robust evidence will be deemed inadmissible.
- Advertising which presents self-evident truths or legally regulated facts as supposed sustainability achievements will be prohibited (e.g. ‘cruelty-free’ or ‘CFC-free’).
- Claims of climate neutrality that are based solely on offsetting will also no longer be permitted.
- So-called ‘cherry picking’, whereby individual sustainable product characteristics are highlighted in products that are otherwise non-sustainable, also falls under this regulation.
The RAL Quality Mark as an EmpCo-compliant Solution
The RAL Quality Assurance System is based on clearly defined, publicly available quality and testing specifications, which are monitored by independent third parties. It also involves a regulated approval and inspection procedure. It therefore meets EmpCo’s requirements for an approved certification and labelling system, which include transparency, independence, traceability and verifiable criteria.
Benefits of the RAL Quality Mark
- Specific sustainability criteria can be embedded in the quality and testing specifications for each product, while still making envrionmental claims.
- Unlike many self-developed labels, this is not a marketing promise, but an independent, traceable system with ongoing monitoring that is open to all market participants.
- RAL Quality Marks can provide robust, traceable and documented evidence regarding the carbon footprint, proportion of recycled material and supply chains, among other things.
Discover more here Advantages of RAL Quality Marks (RAL GÜTEZEICHEN)