EarthCheck
EarthCheck
Report  |  April 2026
Good for Business. Good for the Planet.
Empowering Consumers Directive

What Europe's new rules
mean for your business

A guide to the Empowering Consumers Directive for organisations worldwide marketing to EU consumers.

Enforcement begins 27 September 2026

"If you make an environmental claim to a consumer, it must be specific, substantiated, and not misleading. Vague language that creates a positive environmental impression without evidence is no longer permitted."

2026
EarthCheck Advisory
Why this matters now

Europe has changed the rules.
Not tightened them. Changed them.

If you have ever described your business as "eco-friendly", "sustainable", or "green" in a brochure, on your website, or on a booking platform, you need to read this. The EU audited green claims across member countries and found the results damning.

The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive was passed in February 2024. It is already law. From 27 September 2026, it applies to any business, anywhere in the world, that markets to consumers in EU countries. That includes operators in the Middle East, Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Africa, if European travellers are part of your market.

>50%
of EU green claims were found to be vague or misleading when audited
~40%
had no supporting evidence at all. Consumers were paying a premium for a story that often was not true
27 Sep
2026 — the date enforcement begins. National transposition deadline was already 27 March 2026
4%
of annual turnover in the relevant country — maximum fine under the directive
The directive explained

What the Empowering Consumers Directive actually requires

The core principle is straightforward: if you make an environmental claim to a consumer, it must be specific, substantiated, and not misleading. Vague language that creates a positive environmental impression without evidence to back it up is no longer permitted.

One detail worth understanding: the directive's definition of an 'environmental claim' is deliberately broad. It covers not just words but images, colours, logos, and brand names that create an environmental impression in a consumer's mind.

What used to happen What the Empowering Consumers Directive requires from September 2026
"Eco-friendly" or "green" on your websiteMust be specific: eco-friendly in what respect, measured how, evidenced by what?
Self-declared "sustainable" operatorRequires independent verification against a recognised, accredited scheme with an audit process
"Carbon neutral" based on offset purchasesOffsets alone are not sufficient. Must demonstrate actual emissions reduction
Your own green badge or sustainability logoOnly labels from recognised, accredited certification schemes are permitted
Vague future pledge: "working towards net zero"Must have a specific, time-bound plan verified by an independent third party
Nature imagery combined with green languageVisual and written claims together can constitute a 'generic environmental claim' subject to the rules
The global enforcement context

Regulators worldwide are watching closely. The EU has modelled enforcement of the Empowering Consumers Directive on the GDPR, signalling intent and scale. National consumer protection bodies in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the Nordics have well-established track records of enforcement action. The risk is not hypothetical.

Scope and reach

Does this apply to me if I'm based outside the EU?

If you market to European consumers, yes. The Empowering Consumers Directive applies to any business making claims to EU consumers, regardless of where that business is located — whether you are in the Middle East, Asia Pacific, the Americas, Africa, or anywhere else. If a European traveller sees your sustainability claims when researching their trip, the rules apply.

Not sure if EU consumers find you?

If your booking data includes visitors from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Italy, or Spain, or if you work with any inbound tour operators serving those markets, you are in scope. When in doubt, assume you are.

🏨

Individual operators

Hotels, tour operators, experience providers, accommodation businesses worldwide. Any entity making sustainability claims to EU consumers is in scope, regardless of size or location.

🗺️

Destination Management Organisations

DMOs market destinations to consumers. If your campaigns include green or sustainability messaging reaching EU consumers, they must meet the same evidential standard as a claim from an individual operator.

🏛️

Governments

National and regional government entities marketing to international audiences including European travellers are subject to the directive. Public sector entities are not exempt.

Practical steps

What to do now: your action checklist

September 2026 is not far away. Click each step to expand the detail.

1
Audit every sustainability or eco claim you are currently making
+

Go through your website, booking platform profiles, brochures, social media, and any co-branded tourism content. Write down every environmental or sustainability claim you make. Be thorough. Include imagery and visual elements that could create a green impression, not just text.

  • For each claim, ask: if a regulator in Europe asked me to prove this, could I?
  • What is the evidence? Who verified it? When was it last checked?
  • Check all channels: website, socials, booking platforms, print collateral, partner co-brand.
2
Replace vague language with specific, evidenced statements
+

Generic green language must go unless it can be substantiated. This is the most immediate action most operators need to take.

  • Instead of "eco-friendly", say what specific environmental practice or performance is being referred to and cite the evidence.
  • Instead of "sustainable operator", reference the certification or standard you are verified against.
  • Instead of "we care about the environment", describe what you do, measured and evidenced.
  • If you cannot make a claim specific and evidenced, remove it until you can.
3
Review your certifications and labels
+

Under the Empowering Consumers Directive, only sustainability labels from recognised, independently verified certification schemes are permitted. Check every label, badge, or logo you display.

  • Is it from a recognised certification scheme with independent third-party monitoring?
  • Is your certification current? When does it expire?
  • Have you created any in-house "green" badges or sustainability marks? These will need to be removed.
  • Self-assessment and in-house sustainability programmes, however genuine, are not sufficient on their own.
4
Take a hard look at any carbon or climate claims
+

Carbon claims are the highest-risk category under the Empowering Consumers Directive. The rules are explicit: you cannot claim carbon neutrality based on offset purchases alone.

  • What is required is evidence of actual emissions reduction.
  • Any claim about future climate performance must be backed by a specific, time-bound plan verified by an independent third party.
  • If your current carbon claims are based primarily on offset programmes, build an evidenced emissions reduction narrative or remove those claims until you can.
5
Know which national laws apply to your key markets
+

The Empowering Consumers Directive is not enforced at the EU level. It is enforced through each country's national transposition. The penalties, the regulator, and the specific test applied will differ between countries.

  • If Germany, France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, or the UK are important source markets, it is worth understanding how each country has transposed the directive into national law.
  • Your industry body, legal adviser, or sustainability certification provider can assist with market-specific compliance guidance.
Compliance radar

Claims that are now high risk

These are the types of statements most likely to attract scrutiny under the Empowering Consumers Directive. If any of these appear in your current marketing, they need immediate review.

Claim typeRisk levelWhy it's a problem
"Eco-friendly experience"Very highBanned as a generic claim unless backed by specific evidence of recognised excellent environmental performance
"Sustainable tourism operator"Very highRequires definition, evidence base, and independent verification against a recognised scheme
"Carbon neutral holiday"CriticalCannot be based on offsets alone. Requires actual lifecycle emissions reduction
"Low impact"HighMust quantify and evidence the reduction. Impact compared to what, measured how?
"Green certified"HighMust reference a recognised and accredited scheme. Self-certification is not sufficient
"We care about the environment"Medium-highCan constitute a claim if it creates an environmental impression without supporting evidence
Legal mechanics

Here's the technical: how EU law works

Understanding the structure of EU law helps you understand what you actually need to comply with and where.

01

What is a Directive?

The EU cannot pass a single law that automatically applies in every country. Instead, it issues Directives: instructions that every EU country must achieve a specific outcome, leaving each country to draft its own national law to get there. The Directive sets the floor; each member state builds on it.

02

What is transposition?

Once a Directive is issued, transposition is the process of a country turning it into national law. The transposition deadline for the Empowering Consumers Directive was 27 March 2026. EU countries were required to have national laws updated by that date. Those laws then apply to businesses from 27 September 2026.

03

Why it matters for you

It is each country's transposed national law, not the Directive itself, that a business gets prosecuted under. If Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, or the UK are your key source markets, those are the national laws worth reviewing. Your inbound tour operators, legal advisers, and sustainability certification providers are a good first port of call for market-specific guidance.

What about the Green Claims Directive?

You may have heard about the Green Claims Directive. It would go further, requiring businesses to have environmental claims pre-verified by an accredited body before making them publicly. It has not been finalised and is not expected to apply until 2028 at the earliest. The Empowering Consumers Directive is the law you need to comply with right now. Getting Empowering Consumers Directive-ready now is the right move regardless of what comes next.

What happens if you get it wrong

Penalties and enforcement

The EU has modelled the Empowering Consumers Directive's enforcement approach on its data privacy rules, the GDPR, which signals the seriousness of intent. The directive sets a minimum standard for penalties, and individual countries may set higher penalties in their national transpositions.

💸

Financial fines

Up to 4% of annual turnover in the relevant country

📢

Mandatory withdrawal

Mandatory removal of claims from all marketing materials

🚫

Procurement exclusion

Exclusion from public procurement and government-contracted tourism programmes

📣

Corrective statements

Mandatory corrective statements published to consumers

📉

Reputational damage

Loss of consumer trust in key European markets

Fine exposure calculator

What could a fine actually cost you?

Set your annual turnover using the slider or by typing a value. The directive allows fines of up to 4% of annual turnover in the relevant country. Individual countries may set higher penalties in their national transpositions.

€
€0 €1 billion
Maximum fine (4%)
€10M
EU directive minimum standard
If a country sets 6%
€15M
Some countries may exceed the minimum
Note: The 4% is applied to annual turnover in the relevant country, not global turnover. Actual exposure depends on your revenue in the specific market where enforcement action is taken. This calculator is illustrative only and does not constitute legal advice.
Enforcement is already happening

Several European countries have active greenwashing enforcement programmes. Germany, the Netherlands, and the Nordic countries have strong consumer protection enforcement traditions. France and the UK are similarly active. If these are your key source markets, the risk of enforcement action is real, not theoretical.

EarthCheck

Verified once. Trusted everywhere.

For tourism operators worldwide, nature, culture, and authentic experience are the product. Visitors come for pristine environments, unique wildlife, and places that feel genuinely unspoiled. The natural assets that draw travellers are, quite literally, your gold.

The operators best placed to compete for high-value international travellers are those who can show, not just say, that they take sustainability seriously. EarthCheck works with operators and destinations in more than 80 countries to build the evidence base that turns sustainability claims into competitive assets.

Operators who have genuinely invested in sustainable practice, who have the data, the operational evidence, and the verified certification, are in a much stronger position than those who have simply used feel-good language. The Empowering Consumers Directive makes this distinction legally consequential.

Visit EarthCheck.org
Start with EarthCheck certification

EarthCheck certification provides the independent, third-party verified evidence base that the Empowering Consumers Directive requires. Certified operators can make specific, substantiated sustainability claims, reference a recognised accredited scheme, and demonstrate that their environmental performance is independently audited. That is exactly what the directive demands.

Need help getting compliant?

EarthCheck's certification and benchmarking programmes provide the independent third-party verification that turns sustainability claims into defensible operational realities. Talk to our team about what compliance looks like for your organisation.

Speak to the team Visit earthcheck.org

EarthCheck is the world's leading scientific benchmarking and certification organisation for travel and tourism, operating across more than 80 countries.