Check your green claim
before the regulator does.
Paste text from your website, packaging or advertising – in English, Czech or Slovak. The tool finds, in your browser, typical patterns that fall on the blacklist under Directive (EU) 2024/825 (EmpCo) and shows for each what the rules say and how to say it more safely. In Slovakia the rules apply since 27 September 2026; in the Czech Republic once the amendment of the Consumer Protection Act takes effect.
An indicative check of typical patterns against Annex I to Directive 2005/29/EC as amended by Directive (EU) 2024/825, with the Slovak and Czech implementation. It is not a legal service or an assessment of a specific case; the tool does not assess whether a claim is true or substantiated.
Want to know what EmpCo means for your company in the Czech Republic or Slovakia?
The Pravano Kompas is a free indicative overview, sent by e-mail in English within 2 working days. The Map is a paid output: a list of the affected claims, obligations and recommended steps for your company.
Traffic light under Annex I.
Red
The pattern matches a practice on the list of practices prohibited in all circumstances (Annex I to Directive 2005/29/EC as amended by EmpCo). For point 4a you avoid the ban by specifying the claim in clear and prominent terms on the same medium (then it is not a generic claim), or by demonstrating recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim; for point 4c there is no way out.
Amber
The claim can stand, but only substantiated and specified: what exactly it refers to, what evidence it rests on, who verified it. Without that, it risks being assessed as a misleading practice.
Green
None of the monitored patterns was found. That does not mean compliance – the tool only looks for typical patterns and does not assess whether a claim is true.
An indicative check of typical patterns against Annex I to Directive 2005/29/EC as amended by Directive (EU) 2024/825, with the Slovak and Czech implementation. It is not a legal service or an assessment of a specific case; the tool does not assess whether a claim is true or substantiated.
What the EmpCo blacklist prohibits.
The new points of Annex I to Directive 2005/29/EC inserted by Directive (EU) 2024/825, quoted from the official English text, with the corresponding point of the Slovak Annex 1 to Act No. 108/2024 Coll. Practices on the blacklist are prohibited in all circumstances, without assessing the context. The last row (claims about the future) is not on the list and is assessed case by case.
| Practice | Annex I point (Slovak point) | Example | Safer alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Displaying a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme or not established by public authorities | 2a (SK 3) | Your own “EcoFriendly Certified” logo on products that no independent certification body has verified | The EU Ecolabel with a certificate, or the label of a certification scheme meeting Article 2(r) – shown with the scheme name and certificate number (for FSC, GOTS etc. check the criteria for the specific scheme) |
| Making a generic environmental claim for which the trader is not able to demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim | 4a (SK 6) | “Our products are kind to nature”, “eco-friendly packaging”, “green”, “biodegradable” | A specific claim on the same medium: “packaging made of recycled cardboard”, “100 % of energy used to produce this packaging comes from renewable sources”, “wood from FSC-certified forests” |
| Making an environmental claim about the entire product or the trader’s entire business when it concerns only a certain aspect of the product or a specific activity | 4b (SK 7) | “Eco cosmetics” when only the packaging, not the whole product, meets the condition | “The packaging is made of recycled material; the recycled content is stated on the pack” |
| Claiming, based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions | 4c (SK 8) | “Climate neutral – we offset our emissions by planting trees”, “CO2-neutral delivery” thanks to certified offsets | Remove the claim; describe the actual reduction in your own chain (“we cut emissions from production compared with last year”) and mention the project without any conclusion about neutrality |
| Presenting requirements imposed by law on all products within the relevant product category on the Union market as a distinctive feature of the trader’s offer | 10a (SK 15) | The legal minimum presented as the trader’s advantage | Highlight only what goes beyond the rules, and substantiate it |
| Withholding information from the consumer that a software update will negatively impact the functioning of goods with digital elements | 23d (SK 33) | An update slows the device down and the consumer is not told | State before the update how it affects the functioning of the goods |
| Presenting a software update as necessary when it only enhances functionality features | 23e (SK 34) | “Required update” for an update that only adds features | Distinguish security and necessary updates from optional improvements |
| Any commercial communication about a good containing a feature introduced to limit its durability, when the trader has information on the feature (planned obsolescence) | 23f (SK 35) | A charger with a battery designed to lose much of its capacity after a certain number of cycles and not replaceable; a printer whose firmware blocks printing after a number of pages | Check the technical documentation, ask the supplier for information on deliberate durability limits and document it; transparency does not save the trader here |
| Falsely claiming that under normal conditions of use a good has a certain durability in terms of usage time or intensity | 23g (SK 36) | “Lasts 10 years” without evidence from the producer | State it only with evidence; where the producer offers a commercial guarantee of durability of more than 2 years free of charge, use the harmonised label under Regulation (EU) 2025/1960 |
| Presenting a good as allowing repair when it does not | 23h (SK 37) | “Easy to repair” for goods without available parts or a repair procedure | A “Service and durability” section with availability of spare parts, the update period and repair options |
| Inducing the consumer to replace or replenish the consumables of a good earlier than necessary for technical reasons | 23i (SK 38) | A prompt to replace a cartridge earlier than technically necessary | Signal replacement only when it is actually technically needed |
| Withholding information about impaired functionality when consumables, spare parts or accessories not supplied by the original producer are used – or falsely claiming that such impairment will happen | 23j (SK 39) | Claiming that the goods will not work with a non-original cartridge although they do | Give only true, substantiated information on compatibility |
| A claim about future environmental performance without clear, verifiable commitments in a detailed plan with measurable, time-bound targets and regular verification by an independent expert (assessed case by case, not on the blacklist) | Art. 6(2)(d) (SK § 10(2)(d)) | “We will be fully sustainable in the future”, “our goal is to cut emissions from production significantly” without a plan or verification | A specific, measurable commitment with milestones, a published plan and regular verification by an independent third-party expert; not based on offsets |
Source: Directive (EU) 2024/825 – official English text (EUR‑Lex, CELEX 32024L0825); Slovak points: Green claims in Slovakia from 27 September 2026.
Slovakia already applies the rules. The Czech Republic does not yet.
Slovakia – in force since 27 September 2026. Slovakia transposed EmpCo by Act No. 310/2025 Coll., adopted on 21 October 2025 and promulgated on 19 November 2025. It amends Act No. 108/2024 Coll. on consumer protection, and its environmental part applies from 27 September 2026 – the very day from which the directive is to be applied. The act has no transitional period for environmental claims or sustainability labels, so in our reading the rules apply to commercial practices from that day regardless of when the product was made or placed on the market.
Supervision of ordinary goods and services: the Slovak Trade Inspection (SOI); food, cosmetics and medicines have their own authorities. The fine for an unfair commercial practice ranges from €200 to 2 % of turnover for the previous accounting period, up to €200,000 (§ 43(1)(a)); for a repeated breach within 12 months from €300 to 3 % of turnover, up to €400,000. If the trader ends the breach and remedies it, the rate is halved (§ 44(1)). Since 1 January 2026 the trader must prove the correctness of factual claims in proceedings, otherwise they are deemed incorrect (§ 9(12)).
Czech Republic – status as of 7 October 2026. The Czech Republic missed the transposition deadline of 27 March 2026. Parliamentary print 53 – an amendment of Act No. 634/1992 Coll., on consumer protection, and of Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code – passed the second reading on 24 June 2026; the opinion of the lead Economic Committee was delivered on 4 September 2026 (print 53/4) and the bill has been proposed for the agenda of the 34th session of the Chamber of Deputies starting on 13 October 2026. The third reading has not yet taken place, so the act is neither adopted nor in force. Check the status of the print directly on psp.cz – it changes over time.
Until then, the new blacklist prohibitions do not formally exist in Czech law as separate offences. Green claims can still be sanctioned today under the general prohibition of misleading commercial practices in the current Consumer Protection Act (§ 4, 5 and 5a): on request of the authority the trader must prove a claim is correct, otherwise it is deemed incorrect (§ 5c), and the fine for an unfair commercial practice can reach CZK 5,000,000. Supervision: the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (ČOI), in some sectors other authorities, e.g. SZPI for food. The Economic Committee has proposed a 24-month tolerance for products made or placed on the market by 27 September 2026, but it has not been adopted – the directive itself has no transitional period.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960 on the harmonised label for the commercial guarantee of durability and the harmonised notice on the legal guarantee is directly applicable from 27 September 2026 regardless of the Czech amendment; it only sets the form of the notice and the label – the obligation to provide them to consumers comes with the Czech amendment.
Ten categories, each with a source.
- Generic environmental claim – Directive (EU) 2024/825 – official English text (EUR-Lex)
- Words with a possible environmental meaning (natural, bio, organic) – Directive (EU) 2024/825 – official English text (EUR-Lex)
- Climate neutrality and offsetting – Directive (EU) 2024/825 – official English text (EUR-Lex)
- Claims about future environmental performance – Directive (EU) 2024/825 – official English text (EUR-Lex)
- Own sustainability label or seal – Directive (EU) 2024/825 – official English text (EUR-Lex)
- Reference to a certification or sustainability label – Directive (EU) 2024/825 – official English text (EUR-Lex)
- Durability and reparability claims – Directive (EU) 2024/825 – official English text (EUR-Lex)
- Claims about the entire product, collection or company – Directive (EU) 2024/825 – official English text (EUR-Lex)
- Recyclability, compostability and other circularity aspects – Directive (EU) 2024/825 – official English text (EUR-Lex)
- Legal requirement presented as a distinctive feature – Directive (EU) 2024/825 – official English text (EUR-Lex)
The word lists cover English, Czech and Slovak wording, including inflected Czech and Slovak forms. The tool does not send the text to a server and stores nothing.