Regulatory scoping for sustainability and ESG marketing claims
Environmental and sustainability marketing claims are increasingly treated as representations that must be substantiated — and, in the EU, several claim types are moving toward outright prohibition. The binding EU instrument is the Empowering Consumers Directive; the FTC Green Guides set the US substantiation expectation; the standalone Green Claims Directive proposal stalled in 2025.
Regulations Magist tracks for this vertical
Coverage of these newer regimes is published as draft and reviewed on a rolling basis.
Questions that determine your footprint
Do you make generic green claims ("eco-friendly", "green")?
The EU Empowering Consumers Directive can prohibit generic environmental claims unless backed by recognized excellent performance, and the FTC Green Guides expect competent and reliable evidence behind objective claims.
Do you claim carbon neutrality via offsets?
The EU Empowering Consumers Directive moves toward prohibiting carbon-neutrality claims based solely on offsetting, so for that claim the fix can be to stop making it rather than to document it better.
Do you display a sustainability label?
Self-created or private labels not based on a certification scheme or established by a public authority can be restricted under the EU rules, so label provenance is worth scoping.
See exactly which of 155+ regulations apply to your sustainability & esg claims product.
Magist is an instrument, not a consultancy. It does not sell compliance services or take payment from vendors for placement; the analysis is the same for everyone.
Magist provides legal information, not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney.