EmpCo: no green claim without evidence

Since 27 September 2026, the EmpCo Directive has applied across the whole EU. Claims such as "environmentally friendly", "climate neutral" or an own sustainability seal are now only permitted towards consumers if they are substantiated. This also affects Swiss companies. And it affects suppliers who do no advertising at all: the evidence is often held in their supply chain.

What changes with EmpCo

The EmpCo Directive ("Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition") supplements the EU Directive on unfair commercial practices. It has been transposed into national law (in Germany, for example, in the Act against Unfair Competition). At its core is a list of practices that will in every case be considered unfair (Annex I):

• General environmental claims without proof such as "environmentally friendly", "green" or "sustainable", if the company cannot demonstrate the outstanding environmental performance behind them (No. 4a)
• Own sustainability seals that are not based on a certification scheme or not set by public authorities (No. 2a)
• Claims about the whole product or company when they only concern one aspect (No. 4b)
• Climate neutrality through offsetting: claims that a product is climate neutral, CO₂-reduced or climate positive thanks to offsetting (No. 4c)
• Things that are self-evident presented as an advantage: presenting legal obligations as a special feature of your own offer (No. 10a)

In addition: anyone promising a future environmental performance (such as "net zero by 2035") needs a detailed, realistic implementation plan with measurable targets, regularly reviewed by independent experts (Art. 6 para. 2 lit. d). The Directive also regulates information on durability, reparability and software updates.

When EmpCo affects Swiss companies

What matters is who the communication reaches, not where the company is based. If you sell to consumers in the EU via an online shop, target campaigns at EU markets, or supply packaging and advertising texts to retailers in the EU, you fall under it. This covers packaging, product names, websites, social media and also sustainability reports, insofar as they are addressed to consumers.

The consequences of a breach range from injunctions and new packaging to fines; according to BDO, up to 4% of annual turnover is possible. Some countries, such as Germany, provide transitional rules for goods that were already placed on the market before the cut-off date.

And in Switzerland? What the UWG requires

Even without any EU link, Switzerland already has an evidence requirement. Since 1 January 2025, under the Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UWG), it is unfair to make "statements about oneself, one's goods, works or services in relation to the climate impact caused that cannot be substantiated by objective and verifiable grounds" (Art. 3 para. 1 lit. x UWG).

In practice this means:

• Climate claims about products and about the company itself are covered, such as "climate neutral", "CO₂-reduced" or "net zero company".
• Not only towards consumers: the UWG covers any conduct that affects the relationship between competitors or between suppliers and buyers (Art. 2 UWG), so in principle also claims towards business customers, for example in quotes or on the website.
• Evidence must be on hand: the claim must rest on objective and verifiable grounds. In addition, a court can require advertisers to prove the accuracy of their factual claims (Art. 13a UWG).

The difference from the EU: the Swiss rule is narrower, as it concerns climate claims. The EmpCo Directive covers environmental and sustainability claims more broadly and with specific bans, but only applies towards consumers. If you communicate in both markets, you should therefore apply both standards.

The evidence requirement does not stop at the brand

The EmpCo Directive is consumer law. At first glance it concerns brands and retailers, not suppliers. I think that is a fallacy.

Take a claim such as "packaging made from 50% recycled content" or "produced with 40% less CO₂". The brand putting this on its product must be able to prove it. But it rarely holds the data itself. The data sits with the packaging supplier, the component manufacturer, the logistics provider. From today, a green claim is therefore only as good as the data coming from the supply chain.

This matches what we saw in our 2026 study: 57% of respondents name a lack of supply chain transparency as the biggest hurdle in ESG management. Only 24% have full transparency with their direct suppliers, and 2% in the tiers behind them. (n = 74, not representative; 30% of responses from companies with more than 5,000 employees.)

This is exactly where I see the opportunity for SMEs. A supplier that can structure its sustainability data and provide it with evidence makes it easy for its customers to make legally sound claims. A supplier that cannot becomes a risk to its customer's communication. That is why we built ZEROvia from the start so that the data stands behind a claim, not the other way round.

What you should do now

1. Collect the claims: record all environmental and sustainability claims on packaging, the website, social media, in quotes and reports.
2. Check who reads them: is the claim addressed to consumers in the EU, to consumers in Switzerland, or to business customers?
3. Match the evidence: for each claim, record which data and proof it rests on, and where these are missing.
4. Delete or make precise: replace general terms with specific, substantiated statements; review own seals and offsetting-based climate neutrality.
5. Secure the data base: obtain missing data from suppliers and update it regularly, and prepare yourself as a supplier in case your customers ask.

How ZEROvia helps

ZEROvia does not replace a legal review of your advertising claims. But ZEROvia creates the data foundation on which provable claims rest:

• Guided sustainability reporting from the baseline assessment to the VSME report (with data you record in a traceable way)
• Answering customer requests: AI-supported answers to requests in any format, using your own data, checked before sending
• Closing documentation gaps with document templates directly in the platform
• ESG profile: you decide which data is visible. Instead of slogans, you show key figures
• Supplier screening: check your own suppliers against sustainability criteria, supported by AI

Next steps

• Start your baseline assessment, see in a few minutes which data you already have
• Book a conversation
• All articles on regulation

Sources

• EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2024/825 (EmpCo), 28 February 2024 (Art. 1 No. 2 and 3 with Annex I No. 2a, 4a, 4b, 4c, 10a; Art. 6 para. 2 lit. d of Directive 2005/29/EC as amended)
• BDO Switzerland: EmpCo 2026: what Swiss companies need to check now, accessed 27 September 2026
• öbu: Green claims under new rules, 18 September 2026
• Fedlex: Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UWG), SR 241, status 1 January 2025 (Art. 2, Art. 3 para. 1 lit. x, Art. 13a)
• MME: Circularity claims also need robust evidence, 22 September 2026
• PwC Germany: EmpCo Directive, accessed 27 September 2026
• myclimate: What is the EmpCo Directive?, accessed 27 September 2026
• ClimatePartner: Empowering Consumers Directive and Switzerland tightens rules on environmental claims, accessed 27 September 2026
• FSC Switzerland: EmpCo: what the new EU directive means, accessed 27 September 2026
• Noerr: EmpCo Directive from 27.09.2026: last-minute rule for existing stock, accessed 27 September 2026
• ZEROvia: 2026 study, September 2026

This article provides guidance and does not replace legal advice. Last updated: 27 September 2026.