New rules of sustainability: less noise, more evidence

The law that changed – or did it?

The new rules come from an EU directive with a long name: the Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT). Finland brought it into national law through changes to the Consumer Protection Act from 27 September 2026.

Here’s the thing: misleading green marketing was never allowed in Finland. What’s new is that the law now spells out specific practices that are banned outright, no matter the context.

The rules cover all marketing aimed at consumers, whether you’re a startup or a corporation, on a billboard or on TikTok. And a claim doesn’t have to be in words. Images (a picture of a forest in the context of fossil fuels, for example), colours, symbols and even product names can count as environmental claims. 

The idea behind the rules is simple: help consumers figure out which green claims they can actually trust. The new rules don’t stop you from talking about sustainability - they just stop you from being vague about it. But looking from inside, it might be difficult to recognize what comes across as vague to someone looking from the outside. 

Here are the key changes you should know and actions you can take

Key changes:

• Get specific. Broad words like “eco-friendly”, “green” or “climate-friendly” are basically off the table, unless your product has an official ecolabel, such as the EU Ecolabel or the Nordic Swan, that backs them up. Otherwise, say exactly what you mean, right next to the claim. Not behind a link, not in a QR code. “Made from biodegradable cardboard” tells people something. “Sustainable packaging” doesn’t.
• Offsetting doesn’t make you carbon neutral. You can’t call a product or service carbon neutral, climate neutral or low-emission based on offsets. You can still tell people about the offsetting you do. Just don’t suggest it cancels out your own emissions.
• Say goodbye to homemade badges. Sustainability labels now need to come from an independent certification scheme or a public authority. Official labels like the EU Ecolabel or the Nordic Swan are fine. The leafy logo your design team made last spring isn’t.
• Big goals need a real plan. Want to say “zero emissions by 2035”? You’ll need a public, detailed plan with measurable milestones, and an independent expert who regularly checks your progress.

There’s a bit of breathing room for physical products: anything already on the market before 27 September 2026 has until 27 March 2027 to meet certain labelling and packaging requirements. Your website, social media and digital marketing need to be in line right now.

How do you communicate sustainability without saying “sustainable”?

Let’s be honest: the new rules are good news for consumers. No more guessing which of ten “eco-friendly” products actually is one.

For communicators, though, they raise a tricky question: how do you talk about sustainability without using the word itself?

The answer hasn’t really changed. There’s just less room to dodge it now. Skip the buzzwords and show what you’ve done: the actions, the numbers, the proof. That also means getting comms, marketing, legal and sustainability around the same table. The comms team rarely owns the data, but it’s the one putting the words out there.

A good gut check: Does the message, in its context, leave people with a truthful picture?

Vague claims can come back to bite you, both in reputation and in trust. But get it right, and transparency becomes one of your strongest brand-building tools.

Once the noise dies down, the companies with something real to say will be much easier to hear.