Sustainability is undergoing a profound regulatory transformation in the EU, moving from an element of commercial differentiation to a legal obligation with greater requirements for transparency, traceability and verification.
The Draft Sustainable Consumption Law will represent one of the most significant regulatory changes of recent years in the field of consumer protection and corporate sustainability. It addresses the transposition of Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition and Directive (EU) 2024/1799 on the right to repair, while also incorporating additional measures specifically designed by the Spanish legislator.
This is a horizontal initiative and its impact will extend to numerous economic sectors, from the food industry to distribution, e-commerce, consumer electronics, the automotive sector and digital services.
From green marketing to the need to demonstrate sustainability
One of the fundamental objectives of the future legislation is to strengthen the fight against misleading or insufficiently substantiated environmental claims, a phenomenon commonly known as greenwashing.
The proposal significantly expands the commercial practices considered misleading, incorporating new obligations related to the environmental characteristics of products, their durability, repairability, recyclability and circularity. Likewise, environmental claims must be supported by objective, verifiable evidence that is accessible to consumers.
Climate or environmental targets may not be communicated unless they are supported by verifiable plans, measurable objectives, allocated resources and independent oversight mechanisms.
New restrictions on labels, distinctive signs and brands
The future law also introduces significant restrictions on the use of sustainability labels and distinctive signs and will consider the use of seals or distinctive signs that are not backed by certification systems or that have not been established by public authorities to be a misleading practice. Likewise, the requirements applicable to private environmental or social certification systems are being tightened.
In addition, the revision of the Commercial Registry Regulation opens up a particularly interesting debate for companies: corporate names, trade names or brands themselves may be questioned if they mislead as to the organisation’s environmental performance. The legislation therefore reinforces the idea that sustainability cannot be conveyed solely through commercial messages, but must reflect the reality of the company’s activities.
More information for consumers and new obligations for companies
The legislation introduces new information requirements aimed at facilitating more informed purchasing decisions. Among other aspects, consumers must receive information relating to:
- Commercial durability guarantees.
- Availability of software updates.
- Repairability of products.
- Availability of spare parts.
- Restrictions on repair.
- Environmental or circularity comparisons.
The impact assessment estimates that the implementation of the new system of harmonised notices and labels could affect more than half a million commercial establishments and thousands of product lines subject to commercial durability guarantees. This scenario will require a review of commercial documentation, technical data sheets, e-commerce platforms, customer service procedures and internal product management systems.
The right to repair gains prominence
In addition to tackling greenwashing, the future law aims to promote a genuine culture of repair. To this end, obligations relating to the availability of spare parts, access to repair services, the provision of technical information and transparency of repair costs are being strengthened. A specific system of financial support for certain repairs after the legal guarantee has expired is also being created.
The impact assessment highlights that European consumers consider it acceptable to bear repair costs of between 17% and 27% of the product’s value, while many repairs routinely exceed these thresholds. A decreasing co-financing model funded by manufacturers, importers or retailers is therefore proposed.
New obligations that go beyond European legislation
One of the most striking aspects of the draft law is that it incorporates additional measures that go beyond the content strictly required by the directives being transposed.
These include:
- Regulation of dynamic pricing in emergency situations or situations of need.
- Prohibition on passing certain management fees on to the consumer.
- Mandatory information on shrinkflation.
- Limitation of ticket resale.
- Restrictions on advertising related to fossil fuels.
- Mandatory identification of certain commercial content produced by content creators on social media.
- New obligations when advertising uses fear or exposure to risk as its main selling point.
The impact assessment also introduces a particularly novel issue: the consideration of certain claims linked to animal welfare, or the use of images that may create expectations beyond actual production conditions, as potentially misleading practices. This aspect could be particularly relevant to certain segments of the agri-food industry.
What does this reform mean for the food industry?
Although many of the measures are aimed at durable products, the food industry is not excluded from this regulatory development.
Food companies will need to review in particular:
- Environmental claims.
- Claims on climate neutrality.
- Sustainability messages.
- Private certifications.
- Social or ethical claims.
- Claims on animal welfare.
- References to the origin and traceability of products.
In fact, during the public consultation process, various sector organisations called for more specific regulation on issues related to product origin, traceability, environmental footprint and certification systems applicable to the food chain.
Conclusions
The future Sustainable Consumption Law represents a significant change in the way companies will have to manage and communicate sustainability. The regulatory trend is clear: it will not be enough to convey attractive environmental messages to consumers. It will be necessary to substantiate them, ensure that they are verifiable and have internal mechanisms in place to demonstrate consistency between commercial communication and the reality of the product or organisation.
For companies, the main challenge will be to integrate these new requirements into their regulatory compliance, sustainability and marketing strategies. At the same time, organisations capable of rigorously demonstrating the durability, repairability or sustainability of their products will be able to turn these obligations into a competitive advantage in an increasingly demanding and transparent market.
