“Green” Does Not Necessarily Mean Compliant

Sustainability, responsible business and the goals of the green transition have been part of the corporate agenda for some time. Yet the more prominent these themes become in business communications, the more pressing another question becomes: where does legitimate sustainability communication end and greenwashing begin?

Greenwashing essentially refers to situations where a business creates a misleading or excessively favourable impression of the environmental credentials of its product, service or operations. Put simply, it is about appearing more sustainable than the reality justifies.

The difficulty is that greenwashing rarely takes the form of an obvious falsehood. More often, it appears in subtler ways.

Generic or vague claims such as “bio”, “eco”, “green” or “environmentally friendly” may be used without clearly explaining what they actually mean. A single “green” attribute may be prominently highlighted while the product’s or activity’s overall environmental impact – or its less sustainable components – is left out of the picture. Ambitious promises about future environmental performance may be made without a clear plan, interim targets or credible measures for achieving them. Visuals, symbols and labels may create an environmental impression without providing substance to support it.

This is precisely why greenwashing is no longer merely a reputational issue. It is increasingly a legal risk.

Misleading sustainability claims can influence consumer decisions, distort competition and undermine trust in the market. More importantly, they disadvantage businesses that genuinely invest in substantive sustainability measures rather than merely communicating the appearance of sustainability.

In my view, the key question for businesses today is no longer whether a claim sounds compelling. The question is whether it is accurate, clear and capable of being substantiated.

Could the company support its communication with documents, data and a credible methodology? Is it genuinely clear to the consumer what the claim means? Is there substance behind the promise?

This is where the line between lawful communication and the creation of a misleading impression is drawn.

The importance of this issue will only increase in the coming months. The EU has adopted Directive (EU) 2024/825, commonly referred to as the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, introducing stricter rules for sustainability and environmental claims made to consumers. Lithuania has already transposed the Directive into national law, with the relevant amendments taking effect on 27 September 2026.

This means that generic, vague and unsubstantiated “green” promises will soon expose businesses to even greater legal risk. As a result, some companies are likely to have to reassess not only their marketing communications, but also product packaging, labelling and the environmental claims they currently use.

The businesses best positioned for this new environment will not be those that speak the loudest about sustainability, but those that communicate precisely, responsibly and can substantiate what they say.

Today, appearing sustainable is no longer enough. Businesses need to be able to prove it.