Key Fact Directive (EU) 2024/825 requires substantiating sustainability in building with clear data, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs).
The European Union takes a decisive step in regulating environmental communication and consumer protection. With the entry into force of the national provisions transposing Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition, the EU market debuts a much stricter regulatory framework against so-called greenwashing. This regulation requires that any claim regarding the sustainability of products and materials be clear, objective, verifiable, and backed by solid technical support.
Technical substantiation requirements versus generic claims The new legal landscape seeks to eliminate ambiguous or generic environmental messages that could mislead the user or technical prescriber. In the industrial and building sectors, the scope of this regulation directly impacts claims linked to key parameters such as decarbonization, recycled content percentage, recyclability, the circular economy, or the overall sustainability of construction products.
Directive (EU) 2024/825 requires that any message about environmental performance be clear, objective, and technically substantiated.
To technically support each commercial or technical assertion, companies must rely on rigorous assessment and certification tools. Among the fundamental instruments for justifying declared impacts are Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), comprehensive Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), and official certification systems, which must be applied in accordance with their methodological scope and framework standard.
Transparency and rigor in the building value chain The transition towards a decarbonized construction model requires that the communication of the performance of materials and building systems is firmly based on technical evidence, standardization, and transparency. The elimination of unverified claims seeks to protect the trust of end consumers as well as that of designers and contractors who select materials based on efficiency criteria.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) will be key tools for justifying the real performance of materials.
Likewise, this regulation strengthens the competitive ecosystem by ensuring that companies investing in innovation and genuine carbon footprint reduction compete on equal terms. By limiting misleading or unfounded claims, the market will value the real and measurable performance of products, demanding traceability and accountability throughout the entire value chain of the building sector.
A strict regulatory framework against greenwashing reinforces market confidence and promotes fair competition based on real data.
