Ten Green Claims — and How to Phrase Them Better

Better, as a hypothetical example: 'Since 2024, our three German locations have sourced electricity from renewable sources.' The second version defines a concrete activity and its scope, rather than making a sweeping claim.

Better, hypothetically: 'The packaging contains 80 percent recycled material.' This does not slap a green label on the whole product — it describes one concrete property.

Better, hypothetically: 'We have reduced our operational emissions by 21 percent since 2022.' Product-level neutrality claims based on greenhouse gas offsetting are prohibited under German UWG rules from 27 September 2026.

Better: 'On this trip, transfers between the train station and accommodation are carried out using public transport.' A specific, describable action replaces a vague adjective.

Start by asking: what does 'natural' even mean for this specific product? Is the claim relevant at all? What expectation does it create? Sometimes the best alternative is not a new advertising phrase, but dropping a claim that carries no real meaning in context.

Better, hypothetically: 'Made in [city]; 72 percent of our ingredients are sourced within 150 kilometres.' The word 'regional' needs a clearly defined geographic reference.

Better, hypothetically: 'Since March 2026, we have stopped using the plastic film previously used for [product].' 'Avoid' sounds absolute, while the concrete version describes exactly where a change actually happened.

Better, hypothetically: 'Our office's electricity consumption in 2025 was 16 percent lower than in 2023.'

Here, rewording the sentence is not enough on its own. Future-oriented claims typically require a detailed, realistic implementation plan with measurable targets and independent external review behind them.

The crucial follow-up question is: in what way, specifically? If that question cannot be answered in one concrete sentence, the claim is probably too broad to defend.

The improvement nearly always works through four elements: scope (what exactly does the statement cover?), metric (what exactly has changed?), timeframe (since when, or compared with which baseline year?), and evidence (how do we know this?). That turns advertising into information — and a green promise into a verifiable claim.

EmpCo primarily complements the rules for commercial practices directed at consumers. Check the applicable national implementation separately; Germany’s UWG does not automatically govern claims in other countries. Precise wording alone does not replace matching evidence or a responsible person’s decision before publication. Review the overall impression, including the heading, image and immediately visible explanation. Automated findings do not approve a claim.

The ten examples share seven review errors: vague terms, unsupported superlatives, missing system boundaries, confusing offsetting with reduction, unclear labels, goals without a verifiable plan and evidence detached from the published source. A term is not automatically an environmental claim: natural stone can describe a material, and a bio-sauna can describe a wellness offering. Check whether the context actually promises environmental performance. Document exclusions using the original statement and its surrounding text rather than judging isolated words.

The product-level prohibition on climate impact claims based on greenhouse gas offsetting cannot be cured by an explanatory disclaimer. Communicate verified reductions in your own emissions and support for external climate projects separately. Funding a project does not reduce the emissions accounted for in the product footprint.