From 27 September 2026, stricter requirements for environmental and sustainability claims will apply in the European Union. In future, companies will have to provide stronger evidence to back up their claims – an important step towards combating greenwashing and promoting greater transparency.
From sustainability pledges to verifiable facts.
With the ‘Empowering Consumers Directive’, the EU aims to better protect consumers from misleading environmental and sustainability claims. In future, general terms such as ‘sustainable’, ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘green’, ‘climate-friendly’ or ‘carbon-neutral’ may only be used if they are specific, verifiable and scientifically substantiated.
For businesses, this means that sustainability measures must increasingly be backed up by measurable data and objective evidence.
Objectively assessing biodiversity using DNA analysis
Objectively assessing biodiversity using DNA analysis: In the field of biodiversity in particular, it is crucial not only to describe developments, but also to make them visible and measurable.
Modern DNA-based biodiversity analyses enable species communities and ecological changes to be assessed objectively. This provides companies with a scientifically sound data foundation to:
- determine the current state of biodiversity,
- document changes over time,
- demonstrate improvement measures,
- communicate sustainability activities credibly to customers, partners and stakeholders.
With Sinsoma’s biodiversity analyses, companies can monitor their environmental measures using data – starting from just €249.
Relevance to sustainability reporting and corporate strategy
Biodiversity data is also becoming increasingly important in the regulatory context. Within the framework of the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and sustainability reporting under the CSRD and ESRS E4 – Biodiversity and Ecosystems, nature-related dependencies, impacts and risks are systematically examined.
Objective biodiversity data can help companies assess environmental trends and provide relevant information for their sustainability strategy and reporting.
What businesses should be looking into now
The new guidelines relate, amongst other things, to:
- environmental labels and quality marks without a verifiable basis for certification,
- claims regarding environmental benefits or carbon neutrality without sufficient evidence,
- misleading statements regarding the sustainability of products or services.
Companies should therefore review their sustainability communications at an early stage and ensure that statements are based on sound facts.
The WKO provides detailed recommendations for action on implementation.
Building trust through data
Sustainability is increasingly becoming a matter of verifiability. Anyone implementing environmental measures should also be able to measure and document their impact.
Sinsoma supports companies in scientifically recording biodiversity, highlighting trends and communicating sustainability measures credibly.
Find out more: Measuring biodiversity with DNA analysis