Green Claims Directive X GSES - A high level comparison
What is the Green Claims directive?
The EU Green Claims Directive targets greenwashing by ensuring environmental claims are reliable and verifiable. It applies to business-to-consumer practices, enhancing transparency and consumer protection.
Key points of note
- Objective: Reduce greenwashing by ensuring that environmental claims are substantiated, transparent, and reliable.
- Coverage: Applies to all explicit environmental claims made in the EU, focusing on business-to-consumer interactions.
- Verification: Requires that environmental claims be verified by independent and accredited verifiers.
- Standardization: Aims to standardize environmental claims across the EU, making them more comparable and understandable for consumers.
- Consumer Protection: Protects consumers from misleading claims, thereby promoting more informed purchasing decisions.
- Business Compliance: Ensures that businesses provide accurate environmental information, contributing to a level playing field.
- Environmental Impact: Encourages companies to improve their environmental performance, aligning with broader EU sustainability goals.
Why GSES?
- Regulatory Preparation: Supports readiness for EU Green Claims compliance.
- Consistency in Claims: Helps standardize environmental communication.
- Comprehensive Framework: Holistic sustainability approach beyond Green Claims.
- Data Verification: GSES provides verified sustainability data, aiding the green claims directives demand to reduce greeenwashing
- Risk Mitigation: Reduce greenwashing with verifiable metrics, transparent reports.
- Market Differentiation: Stand out with strong sustainability commitment.
- Consumer Engagement: Provide reliable information, support sustainable choices.
Green claims directive x GSES Alignment with Pillars
Adopting GSES prepares organizations for EU Green Claims compliance, enhances consumer trust through transparent practices, and promotes comprehensive environmental responsibility. It helps standardise sustainability communication, aligning with broader regulatory goals.
Green claims directive and GSES Products Module
- GSES provides a universal, comparable sustainability rating system for products
- Product-related footprint calculations are determined using ISO standards for LCA (ISO 14040 and 14044 for Life Cycle Assessment studies)
- Trustworthy methodology which is transparently communicated and adjusted for uncertainty
- Product-related footprint calculations are based on a Bill of Materials that has been third-party verified
- Product-level circularity claims are based on actual rates of compostability and recycling, based on statistical databases or EU-approved default values.
- Evidence is required to substantiate claims about product-level circularity, which is third-party verified.
- All product-related certificates are third-party validated
- Health-related claims are verified using substance restriction regulation compliance declarations (in the EU and worldwide)
- In sum:
- A clear method, transparently communicated
- Actual vs. potential values used
- 20% uncertainty penalty on all metrics
- Clear calculation, conservative estimates, all third-party verified.
