Information on EU regulations on marketing with sustainability // What companies need to know legally about green claims (PART 1 – Nutshell)

Starting from September 2026, there will be a new mandatory regulation regarding all remotely “green” advertising claims and statements, extending to product and company names. The very special aspect of this regulation is that it will apply retroactively.

Essentially, all company sizes will be affected, both B2B and B2C. However, it is not yet 100% certain whether the German implementation of the directive will explicitly include B2B companies. European countries handle this differently. Nevertheless, if you work for OEMs that, in turn, have B2C lines of business, you will naturally be indirectly affected due to the required uniformity of marketing propositions.

Within your B2B target customers / OEMs, multiple standards will not be feasible. Neither Marketing, nor Legal, nor Sales could sustain this “schizophrenia” – a green claim in the sense of Mercedes is a green claim in the sense of Mercedes, regardless of whether the supplier (you) supplies a B2B line (e.g., trucks) or a B2C line (cars). And most suppliers will have to comply with this. Thus, similar to CSRD, there are indirect obligations to adhere to the rules, even if they may not apply to us directly.

All products and services that your company has on the market in September 2026 (particularly those brought to market from now until then) must be reviewed and aligned with this directive. This includes product stickers, packaging, logos, forms, and even job advertisements. Marketing and web activities, of course, as well.

Action is therefore required now, depending on the lifespan of your products and services in the market. Read the detailed second part of this article for more information.