The Council of the EU and the European Parliament are set to begin talks on a new set of rules on two separate regulations, namely on food waste and ‘green’ claims.
In what was a busy day for EU environment ministers yesterday (Monday, June 18) in their council meeting, they adopted positions on a range of issues.
These included the final adoption of the Nature Restoration Law, as well as adopting its negotiating position on a soil monitoring law, the green claims directive, and the waste framework directive.
The latter three decisions provide the council with its position to take into ‘trilogue’ negotiations with the European Parliament, which has already adopted its position on all three directives.
The aim of the Green Claims Directive, according to the council, is to combat the practice of businesses claiming its products are environmentally friendly or sustainable when there is no scientific basis for the claim. This practice is known as greenwashing.
This directive, if approved by the parliament and the council, would set minimum requirements for the substantiation, communication and verification of explicit environmental claims.
The proposal targets explicit environmental claims, either written or oral, and environmental labels that companies chose to use when marketing. It will also apply to existing and future environmental labelling schemes, both public and private ones.
The council’s position also introduces new requirements to prove climate-related claims, including those involving carbon credits.
The general approach includes the obligation to provide information about the type and quantity of carbon credits, and whether they are permanent or temporary, among other information.
Companies would also be required to distinguish between contribution credits (which contribute directly to climate action) and offset credits (carbon credits that balance out emissions).
EU directive on waste
Also in yesterday’s environment ministers meeting, the council adopted its position on a revision of the Waste Framework Directive, which covers food and textile waste.
The proposed revision sets targets on food waste reduction by 2030, with a 10% reduction target in processing and manufacturing, and a 30% per capita reduction in retail, restaurants, food services and households.
The food reduction targets will be calculated in comparison to the amount of waste generated in the reference year 2020, though member states may use a prior year if they have sufficient data before that, or a subsequent year up to 2023 if the Covid-19 pandemic skewed earlier data.
The council’s position will also take account of the impact of tourism and production levels on food waste.
Talks on both the green claims and food waste regulations between the council and the parliament will begin in the new legislative cycle in the EU.
Farmer reaction
Copa Cogeca, the umbrella group of EU farm organisations and agricultural co-operatives, has welcomed the council’s position on both directives.
Copa said that the position on the Green Claims Directive “takes into consideration the reality on farms and gives the right flexibility to the use of carbon credits”.
Copa had previously raised concerns that farmers would have to jump through two hoops to verify their environmental sustainability, first through environmental regulations under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and then again under the new Green Claims Directive.
However, Copa said that the council’s position addresses this concern by introducing a “simplified procedure” exempting some types of claims from third-party validation.
On the Waste Framework Directive, Copa welcomed the targets that were set, as well as the commitment by the council to improve data collection methods on food waste.
The EU farm organisation called for the results of the coming trilogue negotiations to reflect the council’s position on both regulations.