Greenwashing means making a product, project or company look more environmentally friendly than it really is, usually through vague, exaggerated or unsupported claims. The term matters for designers and architects this summer because the European Union’s plan for a dedicated Green Claims Directive stalled in June 2025, leaving a patchwork of older consumer rules to police environmental claims for now.
Key takeaways
- Greenwashing is any environmental claim that misleads, whether through vague words, missing evidence, selective facts or irrelevant labels.
- On 20 June 2025 the European Commission announced its intention to withdraw the proposed Green Claims Directive, and the final negotiating round planned for 23 June was cancelled.
- The Commission did not formally withdraw the text, so its legal status remains unresolved.
- Separate EU rules on misleading environmental claims, the Empowering Consumers Directive, still apply from 27 September 2026.
- Specific, evidence-backed and up-to-date claims are the safest protection for any design practice or manufacturer.
What greenwashing means in plain terms
Greenwashing is the practice of exaggerating or misrepresenting the environmental benefits of a product, service or organisation. The word was coined in 1986 by the environmentalist Jay Westerveld in an essay about hotels that asked guests to reuse towels “to save the planet” while expanding in a sensitive island setting. It combines “green” with “whitewashing”, the idea of covering up the truth.
In practice, greenwashing shows up in a handful of familiar forms:
- Vague words such as “eco”, “green” or “natural” with no explanation of what is better and by how much.
- Claims with no evidence, or evidence that nobody can check.
- A single positive feature highlighted while larger impacts are ignored.
- Labels that look official but were created by the seller.
- Future promises, such as net zero by a distant date, with no plan to reach them.
What changed for green claims in June 2025?
The stalled Green Claims Directive
On 22 March 2023 the European Commission proposed a Green Claims Directive. It would have required companies to substantiate explicit environmental claims with a recognised method and, for many claims, to have them checked by an independent verifier before publication. On 20 June 2025, after the largest group in the European Parliament, the European People’s Party, wrote to the environment commissioner asking for withdrawal, the Commission announced that it intended to withdraw the proposal. On 23 June the Polish Council Presidency cancelled the third and potentially final negotiating meeting. According to law-firm briefings, the Commission has not formally withdrawn the text, so its status is unclear.
The rules that still apply
The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, published in the Official Journal on 6 March 2024, is not affected. Member states must transpose it by 27 March 2026 and apply it from 27 September 2026. The directive text on EUR-Lex bans generic environmental claims such as “eco-friendly” unless the trader can show recognised excellent environmental performance. It also bans climate-neutral claims for a product that rest only on offsetting and sustainability labels that are not based on a certification scheme or set by public authorities.
The United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the Competition and Markets Authority gained the power to enforce consumer law directly on 6 April 2025, including fines of up to 10 per cent of global annual turnover. Misleading green claims are one of its stated priorities.
Why does greenwashing matter in architecture and design?
Design professionals make claims all the time: a “green building”, a “net zero” scheme, a “sustainable” material, an “eco” finish. Each can be accurate or misleading depending on the evidence behind it. Clients, lenders and competition awards increasingly ask for proof, and regulators are paying attention. Our guide to net zero buildings explains what a credible target contains, and our article on what makes a product sustainable shows how to test a product claim.
Greenwashing also damages the market for genuine projects. When vague claims are common, buyers lose trust in all of them, and well-documented work becomes harder to recognise. That is why sustainable marketing depends on honesty about limits as much as on strengths.
How can you avoid greenwashing in your own claims?
- Be specific: say what improved, by how much, compared with what, and over what scope.
- Keep evidence on file, such as calculations, test reports, certificates and supplier declarations, and make it available on request.
- Avoid absolutes like “100 per cent green” or “zero impact” unless they can be proven.
- Use recognised certification schemes rather than self-made badges.
- Mention important trade-offs and update claims when the facts change.
A simple final test is to imagine a sceptical client or journalist reading the claim. If they could not check it within a few minutes using the documents you hold, the claim needs more detail or a softer wording. This habit protects a practice long before any regulator becomes involved, and it makes proposals and award entries more persuasive because every statement can be traced to a source.
Frequently asked questions
What does greenwashing mean in architecture?
In architecture, greenwashing means describing a building or material as sustainable without evidence, for example calling a project “net zero” without a calculation, or highlighting a small green roof while ignoring high embodied carbon. The remedy is clear targets, measured results and honest reporting.
Is the EU Green Claims Directive cancelled?
Not formally. The Commission announced on 20 June 2025 that it intended to withdraw the proposal, and the planned final negotiations were cancelled, but the text has not been officially withdrawn. Other EU rules on misleading claims still apply or will apply from 27 September 2026.
Are generic claims such as “eco-friendly” allowed in the EU?
Not for much longer. From 27 September 2026, the Empowering Consumers Directive will ban generic environmental claims unless the trader can demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim. Specific claims with evidence are the safer route.