This translation has not been editorially reviewed yet. The German version is authoritative. Deutsche Fassung
CO₂ & EmpCo
What does the statement “climate neutral” on a website need?
If a website says “climate neutral”, “CO₂ neutral” or “climate positive”, a visitor wants to know how this is achieved. Since 27 September 2026 the page has to answer that itself. If the claim rests on offsetting emissions, it counts among the commercial practices that the directive classifies as unfair in every case. The check reports every climate claim for today and classifies it by the text of the page.
How the check recognises the claim
The check reads the visible text of the measured page sentence by sentence. It reports the adjectives “klimaneutral”, “klimapositiv”, “CO₂-neutral” and “emissionsfrei” and the English forms “carbon neutral” and “climate neutral” when they claim something for today, such as “Our shipping is climate neutral.” The noun “climate neutrality” and compounds such as “climate-neutral strategy” or “climate-neutral consulting” name a topic; the check skips them. It also skips questions, words in quotation marks, code and example blocks, and sentences that explain the rule itself.
How the check classifies the match
If the same page names offsetting anywhere, also in a question or a quotation (offset, compensated, climate protection project, reforestation, CO₂ or emission certificates, providers such as ClimatePartner and myclimate), the claim rests on the offsetting according to the text. Then the stricter rule on offsetting applies: a certain finding with a 20-point deduction in the EmpCo part. If “until” or “from” stands next to a year, as in “climate neutral by 2030”, it is a target for the future that needs a linked implementation plan. “Climate neutral since 2021” claims something for today. If the word stands on its own, this finding is raised: a note with a 5-point deduction that a person looks into. The check also reports it when the sentence describes how the claim comes about; whether the description is enough as evidence is judged by the person. The deduction counts once per rule, even if the word appears in several sentences.
What the directive requires
Directive (EU) 2024/825 amends Annex I of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the list of commercial practices that are considered unfair in all circumstances. Under No. 4a this includes a generic environmental claim, unless the trader can demonstrate the recognised excellent environmental performance the claim refers to. Under No. 4c it includes the claim that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment because greenhouse gas emissions are offset. In Germany the transposition is in the UWG (BGBl. 2026 I No. 43), in Austria in the 2026 UWG amendment (BGBl. I No. 58/2026). The check establishes what the text says. Whether a claim is permissible in the individual case is judged by a person, in case of doubt a law firm.
Examples
Printing company
Unsere Druckerei arbeitet klimaneutral.Unsere Druckerei bezieht seit 2024 Strom aus Wasserkraft
und hat ihren Gasverbrauch gegenüber 2021 um 38 % gesenkt
(Energieabrechnungen 2021 und 2025).Shipping
Klimaneutraler Versand mit ClimatePartner.Wir versenden in Kartons aus 100 % Recyclingpapier.
Je Bestellung unterstützen wir ein Moorschutzprojekt im Waldviertel mit 1 €.- Search your website for “climate neutral”, “CO₂ neutral”, “climate positive” and “emission-free”, also in image captions, footers, product texts and seal graphics.
- If the claim rests on offsetting projects, take the word out and describe the project separately as a contribution, with name and extent.
- Instead, say what happens: reduced emissions with number, reference year and calculation method, or the energy source.
- After the change, order a re-measurement. The finding disappears as soon as your texts describe what you do instead of using the word.
