J. Latała’s commentary on legislative changes: An anti-greenwashing bill is on the way!

A bill amending the Act on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices and the Act on Consumer Rights (Parliamentary Document No. 2799), which implements the EmpCo Directive, is at an advanced stage of consideration in the Sejm. The bill introduces definitions of “environmental claim,” “general environmental claim,” and “sustainability labeling,” and expands the list of unfair market practices to include new, prohibited forms of greenwashing, consisting, among other things, of:

• making environmental claims regarding future environmental performance without a specific, verifiable action plan,
• using general environmental claims without demonstrating recognized high environmental performance,
• using proprietary “sustainability” labels that are not based on a certification system or established by public authorities,
• making unsubstantiated claims about a product’s neutral, limited, or positive impact on the environment.
  

The draft provides that the Act will enter into force without a transition period on September 27, 2026. However, in an interview with “DGP,” the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) indicates that, given the current pace of parliamentary work, meeting this deadline is no longer realistic. The President also announced plans to prepare guidelines and, during the first months of the law’s implementation, issue soft warnings and calls for compliance with the regulations; if these prove ineffective, more decisive measures will be taken by initiating administrative proceedings, starting with the largest entities on the market.