Neutrality & offsetting claim
emissionsfrei
Prohibited per seStatements that are prohibited under EmpCo without exception – e.g. blanket neutrality claims based on offsetting.
What does “emissionsfrei” mean?
Emission-free creates the impression that no emissions whatsoever arise from making or using a product, which across a full life cycle is almost never the case. As an absolute environmental claim without a clear reference boundary, the term will as a rule be treated as impermissible under the EmpCo directive from the cut-off date of 27 September 2026 where it rests on offsetting or an unclear system boundary. It can already be misleading today unless it is clearly disclosed what the freedom from emissions actually refers to.
Why this term is risky
Claims that base climate or environmental neutrality essentially on offsetting emissions are considered especially risky under the EmpCo transposition. The new annex to the UCP Directive covers blanket neutrality claims based on offsetting; from the 27 September 2026 deadline they are regularly impermissible – regardless of whether certificates were purchased.
Legal basis
EmpCo (EU) 2024/825 / § 5 UWG (absolute Umweltaussage)
The stated legal basis is an assessment, not a conclusively reviewed legal opinion and not individual legal advice.
Detected spellings & languages
- emissionsfrei
- emissions frei
- emission-free
- emission free
- zero emission
- zero emissions
- sans émission
- sin emisiones
- senza emissioni
- emissievrij
The scanner detects these and further variants across languages in sentence context.