Category: Sustainability

A picture of a green maze

Can you spot greenwashing? Consumer experiences in the EU and the US

Consumers need trustworthy environmental information to shift to a more sustainable lifestyle, but misleading claims are all around. A recent survey by BEUC dived into consumers' perceptions of this greenwashing.

and / January 22, 2024
A Santa dressed in green carrying a sleigh of recycled gifts

Green Santa is coming to town – a year clamping down on greenwashing

BEUC has been involved in fighting greenwashing for many years and 2023 was the year where we stepped up our game. We expanded our effort cross-teams, looking at different areas of consumers’ lives and how we can make them free...

Graphic that shows a bird's eye view of pedestrians, a bicycle, an electric car, and a metro carriage.

Car electrification must go hand-in-hand with promoting alternatives to car use

Consumers must be able to break out of a mobility system that fundamentally relies on fossil fuels. Both car electrification as well as the promotion of alternatives to car use are needed here.

and / December 5, 2023

Safe and eco-friendly period: menstrual cups to the rescue

This month, the EU Ecolabel – Europe’s trustworthy green label – introduces stronger requirements for hygiene products, writes Miriam Thiemann. We’re having a closer look at the newcomer - menstrual cups – and answer some common questions.

/ September 28, 2023

Carbon-neutral food? Too good to be true

‘Carbon neutral’, ‘CO2 neutral’, ‘carbon positive’, ‘carbon neutral certified’. These days it’s difficult to miss these powerful claims on products and services when we’re shopping. The supermarket shelves are no exception: from bananas to pork, blueberries to milk, the variety...

/ July 5, 2023

The EU has become an environmental policy champion – time to go the last mile 

In the span of just four years, environmentally friendly measures went from seen as hampering economic progress to part of economic policymaking. In our retrospective about BEUC’s 60 years of existence, we coined the current decade the ‘transformational 2020s’. And...

/ January 20, 2023

Rules for sustainable products are one side of the coin. Enforcing them is the other.

It is encouraging for consumers that the EU is working on rules to make products sustainable by design. But if policymakers are serious about delivering, they should not forget about the “on the ground” aspect, argues BEUC’s Monique Goyens. This...

/ December 2, 2022

Will the EU’s new environmental calculating method block or boost greenwashing?

There is no doubt European consumers want to buy products that are more sustainable. But currently this is no easy task. Shops are flooded with various claims praising the environmental aspects of products. The EU is working on a solution...

/ November 15, 2022

End of internal combustion engine car sales: good for the climate and your wallet

The EU is on the verge of making a historic decision to reduce CO2 emissions from cars. A 2026 review of that goal, now proposed by Member States, should not cause gridlock.

/ July 11, 2022

The car data hype – no need to worry? Think twice

BEUC’s mobility expert Robin Loos brings us a story from his future self to explain why regulating access to car data is important.

/ February 17, 2022