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EmpCo guideline against greenwashing: RAL Quality Marks provide legally compliant guidedance

With the Empowering Consumers Directive (EmpCo for short), the EU is tightening the rules against greenwashing and misleading environmental claims. 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 to take action. At the same time, there is a growing demand for independent, transparent and recognised labels such as the RAL Quality Marks.

19.01.2026

RAL Quality Marks

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?

General environmental claims that are not supported by robust evidence will be deemed inadmissible. Similarly, advertising which presents self-evident truths or legally regulated facts as supposed sustainability achievements will be prohibited– this applies, for example, to labels such as ‘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.

Sustainability labels that are not based on a transparent, independent certification system are also particularly affected. Many ‘in-house labels’ designed by companies or retail chains themselves will likely no longer be permitted in their current form. Companies must therefore adapt their labelling and communication strategies promptly.

“We are currently receiving many enquiries from companies that have realised: my existing sustainability or environmental label will no longer be permitted in future,” explains RAL Managing Director Rüdiger Wollmann. “The good news is that RAL Quality Marks are EmpCo-compliant and can serve as an alternative here.”

RAL Quality Marks as an EmpCo-compliant solution

The RAL Quality Assurance system is based on clearly defined, published Quality Assurance and Test Specifications, independent testing bodies and a regulated approval and monitoring procedure. It thus meets the requirements that EmpCo places on certification and labelling systems: transparency, independence, traceability and verifiable criteria.

Companies that carry RAL Quality Marks can embed specific sustainability aspects directly into the Quality Assurance and Test Specifications and thus make well-founded claims on this basis. Unlike many self-developed labels, the RAL Quality Marks are backed by an independent, traceable system with ongoing monitoring, which is open to all market participants.

“If every sustainability claim becomes subject to verification in future, companies will need simple labels to fulfil this role. With RAL Quality Marks, they can easily present robust, traceable and documented evidence – for example, regarding their carbon footprint, recycling rate or supply chains,” adds Rüdiger Wollmann.