EarthCheck
EarthCheck
Report  |  Updated September 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.

Check your marketing Can I use the EarthCheck mark?
In force since 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
What changed

The short version

Since 27 September 2026, EU law bans three things that tourism marketing has relied on: vague words such as "eco-friendly" or "sustainable" used on their own, "carbon neutral" claims based on offsets, and sustainability labels without a proper certification scheme behind them. The rules cover any business marketing to consumers in the EU, wherever that business is based.

For EarthCheck members this comes down to two points. You can keep displaying the EarthCheck Certified mark. And every claim you make about your environmental or social performance needs the specific, evidenced fact beside it, which is exactly what your EarthCheck audit gives you.

Start with the table below to see which claims are affected and what to say instead, then use the checklist to find the gaps in your own marketing. This guide reflects the Questions & Answers the European Commission published on 21 September 2026.

The claims

What's banned and what to say instead

These are the claims regulators are most likely to look at, starting with the riskiest. Any environmental or social claim you make to a consumer has to be specific, backed by evidence, and accurate. That covers words, images, colours, logos, and brand or property names.

ClaimRiskWhat to do instead
"Carbon neutral holiday"CriticalBanned outright when based on offsets. Climate claims about a stay, tour or holiday must rest on its actual emissions across its own value chain. You can still describe your investment in carbon projects, as long as you don't imply it cancels out your guests' footprint.
Your own green badge, or a leaf icon beside your logoCriticalBanned. Only display labels based on a certification scheme with independent third-party monitoring, or set up by an EU public authority.
"Eco-friendly resort"Very highBanned on its own. Say what you do and how it was verified.Try: "Our energy use per guest night is 22% below the EarthCheck benchmark for resorts in our climate zone, verified in our 2026 EarthCheck audit."
"Sustainable hotel" or "sustainable operator"Very highTreated the same way as "eco-friendly". Name your certification and a verified result.Try: "EarthCheck Certified since 2019. Our 2026 audit verified a 30% cut in water use per guest night since 2021."
"Green operations" or "low impact"HighQuantify it. Impact compared to what, measured how?Try: "We divert 65% of our waste from landfill, measured monthly and verified in our annual EarthCheck audit."
"Supports local communities"HighSocial claims are now covered too. Show what you do, with numbers where you can.Try: "80% of our team live within 50 km of the resort, verified in our EarthCheck audit."
"Eco Lodge" in a property nameHighA name can be an environmental claim. Spell out the basis wherever the name appears in marketing, or consider renaming.
"Net zero by 2035"HighNeeds a detailed public plan with measurable targets and resources, checked regularly by an independent expert whose findings consumers can see.
"Plastic straw free" where the law already requires itHighBanned when every competitor is legally required to do the same. Promote what you do beyond the law instead.
"We care about the environment"Medium-highCounts as a claim if it creates a green impression. Describe what you do, measured and evidenced.
Nature imagery beside green wordingMedium-highImagery alone is not a generic claim. Combined with words it can be, so check pages where the two sit together.

The figures in the examples are illustrative. Use your own verified results.

The 'same medium' test

A claim stops being a banned generic claim when its specification appears in clear and prominent terms on the same medium: the same ad, the same listing, the same web page, next to the claim or as part of it. That only takes it off the blacklist. The claim must still be accurate and evidenced, and a narrow detail won't justify a sweeping word: solar panels on the roof don't make the whole resort "eco-friendly". Replacing the vague word with the specific fact is safer than qualifying it. The Commission is blunt about channels with little space: if there is no room to specify the claim, don't make it. Search ad headlines, booking platform taglines and short social captions are where this catches most operators.

Your EarthCheck certification

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 unspoiled. The natural assets that draw travellers are your gold.

The operators best placed to compete for high-value international travellers back their sustainability claims with evidence. EarthCheck works with operators and destinations in more than 80 countries to help build that evidence.

Members ask us two questions more than any other.

Can I display the EarthCheck Certified mark?

Yes. The directive allows sustainability labels based on a certification scheme that meets its conditions, and EarthCheck Certified meets each one. EarthCheck owns the scheme and is a separate legal entity from the certification bodies that audit members. An approved panel of independent certification bodies carries out those audits, and EarthCheck assesses each one against ISO/IEC 17065, the international standard for bodies that certify products, processes and services. The scheme's requirements are public, and it is open to any business willing and able to meet them.

Display the mark exactly as the EarthCheck brand guidelines set out. Read the EarthCheck brand guidelines (PDF).

Can I describe my business as eco-friendly or sustainable?

Only with the specific, evidenced claim in the same place. Your EarthCheck audit verifies your performance against benchmarks for energy, water, waste, emissions and community, which gives you that evidence. The "Try" examples in the claims table above show how to turn a vague word into a claim your audit backs.

Each figure must cover what the word implies. A single result supports a claim about that result, and the broader the word, the more evidence it needs.

Practical steps

What to do now: your action checklist

Answer each question honestly. Each step turns green, amber or red, so you can see at a glance where your marketing stands and what to fix first.

0%
Answer the questions in each step to see where you stand.
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0 at risk0 partly there0 clear
1

Audit every sustainability or eco claim you are currently making

Not checked

Go through your website, booking platform profiles, paid search ads, brochures, social media, and any co-branded tourism content. Write down every environmental, sustainability or community claim you make. Include the words, property and product names, imagery and icons.

We have a written list of every environmental, sustainability and community claim we make.

The list covers every channel: website, booking platforms, search ads, social media, print and partner content.

We have checked property names, product names, imagery and icons as well as the words.

More guidance
  • 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, search ads, print collateral, partner co-brand.
  • Printed brochures and signage already in circulation can be corrected with stickers or a notice placed next to them. Authorities can take reasonable efforts to comply into account.
2

Replace vague language with specific, evidenced statements

Not checked

Words like "eco-friendly", "green" and "sustainable" are banned as stand-alone claims. Use them only with the specific, evidenced claim in the same place, or replace them with the specific fact. Your certification audit is the best source of that evidence.

None of our marketing uses "eco-friendly", "green" or "sustainable" on its own.

Every specific claim we make is backed by evidence we could show a regulator.

Where a channel has no room for the detail, we have removed the claim from that channel.

More guidance
  • Instead of "eco-friendly", say what you do and cite the evidence, for example: "Solar panels supply 60% of our electricity, verified in our annual certification audit."
  • Instead of "sustainable operator", name the certification you hold and what it verifies.
  • Put the detail in the same ad, listing or page as the claim, and make sure it supports the whole claim.
  • If a channel has no room for the detail, leave the claim out of that channel.
3

Review your certifications and labels

Not checked

You can only display a sustainability label if it is based on a certification scheme or set up by an EU public authority. The Commission expects you to check the scheme's public terms before you display its label.

Every label or badge we display is based on a certification scheme with independent third-party monitoring.

Our certification is current, and we display the mark as the scheme's brand guidelines set out.

We only display labels from non-EU government bodies if a certification scheme backs them.

More guidance
  • Is compliance monitored by an independent third party that is a separate legal entity from the scheme owner?
  • Are the scheme's requirements public, and is it open to any business able to meet them?
  • Is your certification current? When does it expire?
  • Remove any in-house "green" badges or sustainability marks, including icons such as leaves or water drops placed beside your logo.
  • Labels from government bodies outside the EU need a certification scheme behind them before you show them to EU consumers.
4

Take a hard look at any carbon or climate claims

Not checked

Claiming that a stay, tour or holiday is "carbon neutral", "climate compensated" or has a "reduced climate impact" because of offsets is banned outright. Climate claims about a product or service must rest on its actual emissions across its own value chain.

We make no claim that a stay, tour or holiday is carbon neutral or climate compensated because of offsets.

Any claim about reduced emissions rests on real, measured reductions, explained next to the claim.

Any future target, such as net zero, has a public plan with regular independent verification.

More guidance
  • You can still say you invest in carbon projects, as long as you describe it accurately and don't imply it cancels out your guests' footprint.
  • A specific claim such as "reduced CO2 impact" is allowed when the basis is spelled out next to it and it reflects real reductions.
  • Company-level offsetting claims fall outside the outright ban, but regulators still judge them against the general rules on misleading claims.
  • Claims about the future, such as "net zero by 2035", need a detailed public plan with measurable, time-bound targets and resources assigned to deliver it.
  • An independent expert must check that plan regularly (the Commission suggests every one or two years) and the findings must be available to consumers. A QR code linking to them is acceptable.
5

Check community, social and "legally required" claims

Not checked

The rules now name social claims explicitly. They also ban presenting a legal requirement as something special about your business.

Our community and social claims are backed by specific evidence.

We don't promote legal requirements, or benefits every competitor shares, as selling points.

More guidance
  • "Supports local communities", "fair employer" or "ethical wildlife experiences" need the same evidence as an environmental claim.
  • Don't promote a legal requirement as a selling point, for example "plastic straw free" where every competitor is already required by law to be.
  • Avoid advertising benefits that apply to every business of your type anyway.
6

Know which national laws apply to your key markets

Not checked

The Empowering Consumers Directive is not enforced at the EU level. Each country enforces its own national version of it. The penalties, the regulator and the exact test differ between countries.

We know which EU countries our consumers come from.

We have checked the national rules in each key EU market, or have advice on them.

More guidance
  • If Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain or the Nordic countries are important source markets, check how each has written the directive into national law.
  • Under some national laws, competitors and consumer groups can take a business to court themselves.
  • The UK sits outside the directive and has its own rules, covered under "Does it apply to you?".
  • Your legal adviser, industry body, or certification provider can help with market-specific guidance.

Your gaps

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    Enforcement in practice

    Recent cases

    Four of the five cases below are UK rulings. The UK sits outside the directive, but its regulators apply a very similar test, and tourism cases there show where EU authorities are likely to land.

    Aviation · EU CPC Network, 2023

    Airlines challenged over "green flying" claims

    The EU's network of consumer authorities challenged easyJet, Ryanair, Lufthansa, Air France and others under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive over potentially misleading claims such as "green flying", "climate neutral", and "eco-friendly flights." Regulators found that generic sustainability language, combined with how carbon offsetting was presented, could lead consumers to believe flight emissions were fully neutralised.

    Destination marketing · UK ASA, 2025

    eDreams ruled against over "sustainable destination" claims

    The UK Advertising Standards Authority investigated eDreams for phrases including "Puerto Rico, a sustainable destination" and "Discover our sustainable trips." The ASA ruled that eDreams presented these as absolute environmental claims without explaining their basis or providing evidence, breaching the CAP Code on environmental claims.

    Accommodation · UK ASA, 2026

    Thomas Cook ruled against over an unqualified "Eco Resort" claim

    A paid search ad for Thomas Cook named a hotel as "Sandos Caracol Eco Resort", a phrase generated automatically by Google's ad tools from the property's former name. The ASA upheld the complaint regardless, ruling that "eco" has no standardised meaning and that the resort's environmental initiatives (solar power, water treatment and a nature reserve) were never explained in the ad or on a linked landing page. The ASA did not accept automated ad generation as a defence.

    OTA aggregator · UK ASA, 2026

    loveholidays ruled against on the same "third-party name" defence

    loveholidays argued that "Green Garden Eco Resort" and "Marvida Family Eco Hotel" were simply the trading names of accommodation it resells, not environmental claims it had formulated itself. The ASA upheld both complaints anyway, holding that consumers would still read "eco" as a description of the property regardless of who coined the name. Reselling third-party inventory does not remove the obligation to qualify the claim.

    Aviation · UK ASA, 2026

    Eurowings ads pulled over carbon offsetting claims

    Paid search ads referencing "CO2 compensation" were challenged as part of the ASA's wider focus on carbon offsetting claims in air travel, the same sweep that saw Qatar Airways censured. Eurowings removed the ad copy after the ASA's approach. Having an offsetting programme is not enough evidence for an absolute claim about environmental impact.

    Scope and reach

    Does it apply to you?

    If you market to consumers in the EU, yes, wherever you are based. For members inside the EU, the rules apply through your own country's national law. For members elsewhere, whether in the Middle East, Asia Pacific, the Americas, Africa, or anywhere else, they apply as soon as a European traveller sees your sustainability claims when researching their trip.

    Based in the EU?

    Your own country's law applies to your home market, and the laws of other EU countries apply to consumers you market to there. Rules can differ in detail from one country to the next, so check each key market. If you sell goods to consumers, for example through a resort shop or an online store, you must also display the EU's harmonised notice on legal guarantee rights.

    Based outside the EU? 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.

    What if I'm a small operator?

    Being a small operator doesn't create an exemption. Small and micro enterprises, businesses with fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover under €2 million, are still covered by the directive's rules on misleading claims. You don't have to work through it alone. EarthCheck works with operators of every size to help prioritise what matters most first.

    What sits outside the rules?

    The directive covers business-to-consumer marketing only. Pitches to corporate buyers, event planners and trade partners are business-to-business and fall under other EU rules. Mandatory sustainability reports written for investors are generally outside scope too. Once you lift wording from a sustainability report into your website, a brochure or a booking listing, that wording becomes consumer marketing and the rules apply.

    What about the UK?

    The UK is outside the EU and has not adopted this directive. It has its own rules: the ASA's CAP Code and the CMA's Green Claims Code. Since April 2025 the CMA can fine businesses directly for breaching consumer law, up to 10% of global turnover. The tests are similar, so most work done for the EU carries over, but check UK rules separately if British travellers are a key market.

    Individual operators

    Hotels, tour operators, experience providers, accommodation businesses worldwide. Any business making sustainability claims to EU consumers is in scope, regardless of size or location. That includes the property's own name: "Eco Lodge" or "Green Resort" can count as an environmental claim.

    Destination Management Organisations

    DMOs market destinations to consumers. If your campaigns include green or sustainability messaging reaching EU consumers, they must meet the same standard of evidence as a claim from an individual operator. If you rank or badge properties by sustainability, you also need to explain how the comparison works and how you keep it up to date.

    Governments

    National and regional government bodies marketing to European travellers are subject to the directive. Sustainability labels set up by public authorities outside the EU can no longer be shown to EU consumers unless they are backed by a certification scheme with independent third-party monitoring. National tourism labels run by a ministry or tourism board need checking now.

    The legal detail

    Penalties and enforcement

    Each EU country sets its own penalties and enforces the rules through its national consumer authorities and courts. EU law sets some minimums, most importantly for large cross-border cases.

    Fines

    Set by each country. For widespread cross-border breaches, the maximum fine must reach at least 4% of annual turnover in the countries concerned

    Orders to stop

    Authorities can order you to stop a misleading claim and remove it from all marketing

    Consumer remedies

    Consumers harmed by an unfair practice can claim compensation, a price reduction or cancellation

    Corrective statements

    Authorities can require you to publish the decision or a corrective statement

    Court action by others

    Under some national laws, competitors and consumer groups can take a business to court directly

    Reputational damage

    Loss of consumer trust in key European markets

    Fine exposure calculator

    What could a fine cost in a large cross-border case?

    Set your annual turnover in the EU countries concerned, using the slider or by typing a value. For widespread breaches pursued through coordinated action by national authorities, EU law requires the maximum available fine to be at least 4% of that turnover. Where turnover figures aren't available, the maximum must be at least €2 million.

    €
    €0 €1 billion
    4% of turnover
    €10M
    The lowest ceiling EU law allows for widespread cases
    Where turnover is unknown
    €2M
    The lowest ceiling when turnover data isn't available
    Note: The 4% applies to annual turnover in the countries concerned, not global turnover. Countries can set higher ceilings, and fines in smaller or single-country cases are set by national law. This calculator is illustrative only and does not constitute legal advice.
    Enforcement is already happening

    National authorities were acting on misleading green claims under the existing consumer rules well before this directive, and the Commission has confirmed those rules already cover greenwashing. Germany, the Netherlands, France and the Nordic countries have strong enforcement traditions. If these are your key source markets, treat this as a live issue.

    The legal detail

    How EU law works

    How EU law is built tells you which rules to follow, 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.

    The Empowering Consumers Directive is formally Directive (EU) 2024/825. It does not create a new legal framework. It amends two existing laws: the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC) and the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU).

    02

    What is transposition?

    Transposition is the process of a country turning a Directive into national law. The transposition deadline for the Empowering Consumers Directive was 27 March 2026, and the national laws have applied to businesses since 27 September 2026.

    03

    Why it matters for you

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

    The Commission's Questions & Answers

    On 21 September 2026, the European Commission's consumer protection department published answers to 21 common questions about the directive. They are the Commission services' preliminary views, and only the Court of Justice of the European Union can give a binding interpretation. Until the Commission updates its full guidance, they are the clearest official statement of how regulators will read the rules. See the Commission's sustainable consumption page.

    What about the Green Claims Directive?

    You may have heard about the Green Claims Directive, a separate proposal that would have gone further, requiring businesses to have environmental claims pre-verified by an accredited body before making them publicly. The European Commission announced in June 2025 that it intended to withdraw the proposal, and negotiations stopped. The proposal has not been revived. The Empowering Consumers Directive is the main EU law on misleading environmental claims, and it applies now.

    Read it your way

    This page is in English. Your market might not be.

    Browser translate tools are fine for a quick skim, but they stumble on the parts of this guide that matter most: defined legal terms, the names of rulings and regulators, and anything generated by the page's own scripts. They also can't touch the videos.

    Choose a language below and the button downloads this guide as a Markdown file, with the interactive tools stripped out and a translation prompt for that language already written at the top. Paste the whole file into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or whichever AI assistant you use. The legal terms, rule numbers and figures come through intact, and the European languages get the directive under its official published title.

    Covers the claims table, the EarthCheck answers, the checklist questions, the case studies and the legal detail. The interactive tools stay on the page.

    Need help getting compliant?

    EarthCheck's certification and benchmarking programmes give you independently verified evidence for specific claims. Talk to our team about what that looks like for your organisation.

    Speak to the team Download the research paper

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