This long-awaited update was published on 25 May 2023. Intended primarily for consumers, the CNC’s (Conseil National de la Consommation - French National Consumer Council) Guide pratique des allégations environnementales - (Practical Guide to Environmental Claims) is above all a reference tool for professionals and the supervisory authorities, with its reminder of the legal framework and the explanations and conditions for use of the claims.
The first version dated from 2010 and listed seven environmental claims:
• Sustainable
• Responsible
• Organic
• Natural
• Biodegradable
• Substance X free
• Expression of compliance with a regulation
It was supplemented in 2012 by the addition of claims:
• Global: green, ecological, respectful of the environment, etc.
• Relating to management or business management initiatives: “one product purchased, one tree planted”, “our producers are committed to respecting the environment”, etc.
• Containing the prefix eco or the terms eco-designed, recyclable, compostable, renewable, etc. • Relating to the reduction of a product’s ecotoxicity: non-ecotoxic, reduced ecotoxicity, minimal ecotoxicity, less ecotoxic, etc.
The AGEC law (against waste and for the circular economy) published in 2020 was the trigger for the work that led to this latest update, designed to take account of market developments since 2010, reference the new claims used and the questions they are likely to raise from the point of view of the fairness of consumer information.
The 2023 Guide
It consists of two parts.
The legal framework
The first part sets out all the regulations governing environmental claims, from the European Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices to the French AGEC and Climate and Resilience …
