Adopting Changes in Sustainability Communication to Comply with New EU Rules
Irish social enterprise Purpose Content Studio set out to change the climate narrative, offering new sustainability communication solutions to businesses in light of the latest EU plans to ban “climate neutral” and other sustainability claims by 2026.
Most companies are busy turning the wheel of their operation towards more sustainable business practices, measuring their environmental footprints, and announcing sustainability strategies and carbon pledges.
However, when it comes to communication, fighting greenwashing and deciding what is true and what is false regarding sustainability messages has become a major challenge for consumers, investors, and other stakeholders.
According to the latest provisional agreement by the EU Parliament and Council, new rules are coming to ban misleading advertisements and provide consumers with better product information from 2026.
This proposal will hit hard on commercial communication using “generic environmental” claims or adopting questionable green marketing approaches.
These set of rules aim to combat greenwashing and help consumers make better purchasing choices.
The new regulation will banish the use of terms such as “environmentally friendly”, “natural”, “biodegradable”, “climate neutral”, or “eco” without proof of recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim.
To combat misleading messages regarding a company or product’s carbon footprint that has become extremely popular, the new regulations will also ban claims based on emissions offsetting schemes that a product has a neutral, reduced, or positive impact on the environment.
Practically, businesses must be prepared to have authentic and credible verification based on approved certification schemes or established by public authorities of any sustainable message they use regarding their products, services, or the company.
Yet, the challenge remains how to engage audiences and communicate sustainability in a meaningful and authentic way.
Purpose Content Studio is run by journalists and communication professionals aiming to support organisations in telling impactful stories, educating audiences, and raising awareness about issues related to climate action and other relevant fields.
Writing and publishing articles or designing engagement campaigns that deliver measurable impacts and feed into reporting initiatives are some of the solutions businesses can utilise working with them to better navigate the sustainability communication landscape.