Article 1, point (1)(b) — Amendments to Directive 2005/29/EC (inserting definitions in Article 2, points (o) to (q))
the following points are added:
‘(o)
“environmental claim” means any message or representation which is not mandatory under Union or national law, in any form, including text, pictorial, graphic or symbolic representation, such as labels, brand names, company names or product names, in the context of a commercial communication, and which states or implies that a product, product category, brand or trader has a positive or zero impact on the environment or is less damaging to the environment than other products, product categories, brands or traders, or has improved its impact over time;
(p)
“generic environmental claim” means any environmental claim made in written or oral form, including through audiovisual media, that is not included on a sustainability label and where the specification of the claim is not provided in clear and prominent terms on the same medium;
(q)
“sustainability label” means any voluntary trust mark, quality mark or equivalent, either public or private, that aims to set apart and promote a product, a process or a business by reference to its environmental or social characteristics, or both, and excludes any mandatory label required under Union or national law;
Article 1, point (2)(b) — Amendments to Directive 2005/29/EC (adding Article 6(2), points (d) and (e))
(b)
in paragraph 2, the following points are added:
‘(d)
making an environmental claim related to future environmental performance without clear, objective, publicly available and verifiable commitments set out in a detailed and realistic implementation plan that includes measurable and time-bound targets and other relevant elements necessary to support its implementation, such as allocation of resources, and that is regularly verified by an independent third party expert, whose findings are made available to consumers;
(e)
advertising benefits to consumers that are irrelevant and do not result from any feature of the product or business.’;
Annex — Amendments to Annex I to Directive 2005/29/EC (adding points 2a, 4a to 4c, 10a and 23d to 23j)
Annex I to Directive 2005/29/EC is amended as follows:
(1)
the following point is inserted:
‘2a.
Displaying a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme or not established by public authorities.’;
(2)
the following points are inserted:
‘4a.
‘Making a generic environmental claim for which the trader is not able to demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim.
4b.
Making an environmental claim about the entire product or the trader’s entire business when it concerns only a certain aspect of the product or a specific activity of the trader’s business.
4c.
Claiming, based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.’;
(3)
the following point is inserted:
‘10a.
Presenting requirements imposed by law on all products within the relevant product category on the Union market as a distinctive feature of the trader’s offer.’;
(4)
the following points are inserted:
‘23d.
Withholding information from the consumer about the fact that a software update will negatively impact the functioning of goods with digital elements or the use of digital content or digital services.
23e.
Presenting a software update as necessary when it only enhances functionality features.
23f.
Any commercial communication in relation to a good containing a feature introduced to limit its durability despite information on the feature and its effects on the durability of the good being available to the trader.
23g.
Falsely claiming that under normal conditions of use a good has a certain durability in terms of usage time or intensity.
23h.
Presenting a good as allowing repair when it does not.
23i.
Inducing the consumer to replace or replenish the consumables of a good earlier than necessary for technical reasons.
23j.
Withholding information concerning the impairment of the functionality of a good when consumables, spare parts or accessories not supplied by the original producer are used, or falsely claiming that such impairment will happen.’.