Stricter Rules for Sustainability Advertising: An Overview of the New UWG

More transparency for sustainable purchasing decisions: On 19 February 2026, the Third Act Amending the Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG) was promulgated, implementing the Empowering Consumers Directive (EmpCo) into German law. From 27 September 2026, new rules will apply to sustainability claims. The aim is to better protect consumers from misleading information and to provide them with a reliable basis for making purchasing decisions.

We summarise below the most important new provisions for you:

Clarification of the Misleading Practices Provision (section 5 UWG as amended)

The Act specifies the misleading practices under section 5(2) No. 1 UWG and explicitly adds deception regarding ecological and social characteristics as an unfair commercial practice.

Under section 5(3) No. 4 UWG as amended, misleading claims about future environmental performance directed at consumers are prohibited if they are made without clear, objective, publicly accessible and verifiable commitments, which must be set out in a detailed and realistic implementation plan. This plan must be reviewed regularly by an independent external expert. General statements such as “climate neutral by 2050” will therefore become a thing of the past.

New per se prohibitions in the “Black List” (Annex to section 3(3) UWG as amended)

General environmental claims (No. 4a Annex to section 3(3) UWG as amended), such as “environmentally friendly” or “ecological”, will be prohibited in B2C advertising unless an “acknowledged excellent environmental performance” can be demonstrated. This proof is deemed provided, for example, if the criteria for the EU Ecolabel are met, if a Type I environmental label under DIN ISO 14024 (e.g., Blue Angel) applies, or if maximum environmental performance is achieved under other EU law (e.g., the highest energy efficiency class A).

The prohibition does not apply if the environmental claim is clearly and prominently specified directly in the same medium.

Prohibition of sustainability labels without a certification scheme (No. 2a Annex to section 3(3) UWG as amended)

Sustainability labels (trust marks, quality seals or similar) aimed at consumers and that are neither based on a certification scheme nor established by public authorities will be prohibited in future. This applies to both environmental and social aspects. This effectively marks the end of company created in house sustainability seals.

Prohibition of false claims about the scope of an environmental statement (No. 2a Annex to section 3(4b) UWG as amended)

It will also be prohibited to make an environmental claim about an entire product or a trader’s entire business activity when it in fact relates only to a particular aspect of the product or a specific activity. “Green cherry picking” will no longer be permissible.

Prohibition of advertising based on greenhouse gas offsetting (No. 4c Annex to section 3(3) UWG as amended)

The amended UWG explicitly provides that claims based on greenhouse gas offsetting, suggesting that a product has neutral, reduced or positive environmental impacts with respect to greenhouse gas emissions, are per se prohibited. Such claims will only remain permissible if they genuinely relate to the entire life cycle of the product (production, use and disposal).