Directive (EU) 2024/825 (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition, ECGT), transposed by the Chamber of Representatives, applies from September 27, 2026 to traders who make environmental claims toward consumers in Belgium. The Chamber adopted DOC 56K1552 on July 9, 2026 and the committee adopted DOC 56K0224 on July 1, 2026. Both await royal sanction and Moniteur belge publication and are not in force.
Belgian B2C retailers and e-commerce sellers making environmental claims toward Belgian consumers, FMCG and consumer-goods brands marketing green or climate-neutral claims on the Belgian market, fashion and textile retailers selling into Belgium, food and beverage companies making natural, eco or climate-neutral claims in Belgium, importers of consumer goods into Belgium displaying sustainability labels or green claims, and operators of sustainability labels and certification schemes used on the Belgian market must substantiate every environmental claim with recognised, verifiable evidence, remove generic eco or green and offset-based climate-neutral claims, and update pre-contractual durability and repairability information by September 27, 2026, or greenwashing is an automatic misleading commercial practice under Book VI of the Code of Economic Law, with FPS Economy Inspection fines of EUR 208 to EUR 80,000 or up to 4% of annual turnover.
- Deadline : September 27, 2026, the date the ECGT rules apply.
- Who : Traders making environmental claims, sustainability labels or carbon-neutral claims toward Belgian consumers.
- What : Substantiate claims with recognised verifiable evidence, base labels on a certification scheme or a public authority, and substantiate carbon-neutral claims.
- Otherwise : Automatic misleading practice under Book VI, fines of EUR 208 to EUR 80,000 or up to 4% of annual turnover, cessation actions and damages claims.
- Official source : Chamber proposition DOC 56K0224.
What applies on September 27, 2026
Five obligations fall due on September 27, 2026: substantiate environmental claims with recognised, verifiable evidence; base sustainability labels on a certification scheme or a public authority; substantiate carbon-neutral, climate-neutral or climate-positive claims under proposition 56K0224; treat greenwashing as an automatic misleading practice under Book VI; and apply strengthened sanctions under Book I. The European Commission confirmed on September 22, 2026 that this date is not postponed. The separate Green Claims Directive is paused. Belgium missed the March 27, 2026 transposition deadline.
Who is covered
Coverage follows sales to Belgian consumers, not the place of establishment: the retailers, brands, importers and label operators named above. The dossier states no turnover threshold and no small-trader exemption. The obligations are planned because royal sanction and Moniteur publication have not occurred.
What to do before September 27, 2026
- Substantiate every environmental claim aimed at Belgian consumers with recognised, verifiable evidence.
- Remove generic eco or green claims that lack that evidence.
- Remove offset-based climate-neutral, carbon-neutral and climate-positive claims, or substantiate them as proposition 56K0224 requires.
- Keep a sustainability label only when it rests on a certification scheme or was established by public authorities.
- Update pre-contractual durability and repairability information in line with the consumer-rights amendments in DOC 56K1552.
What happens otherwise
Greenwashing is an automatic misleading commercial practice under Book VI, enforced by the FPS Economy Inspection with criminal fines of EUR 208 to EUR 80,000 or up to 4% of annual turnover, plus cessation before the Enterprise Court and damages claims. Proposition 56K0224 strengthens the Book I sanctions. The dossier names the FPS Economy as the drafting ministry. Continuous per-jurisdiction monitoring surfaces that publication.
How this differs from the German EmpCo transposition
- Germany published the UWG-EmpCo-Umsetzungsgesetz on February 19, 2026 (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 43, signed February 12, 2026). It applies from September 27, 2026. Official text.
- Belgium's Chamber adopted DOC 56K1552 on July 9, 2026. Both Belgian texts await royal sanction and Moniteur publication, so they are not in force. The EU application date is the same day, September 27, 2026.
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