New Requirements for Environmental Advertising—and a Concrete Benefit for Certified Products

As of September 27, 2026, new regulations implementing the EU Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (“EmpCo”) have been in effect in Germany. These regulations have been incorporated into the Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG) and impose stricter requirements on environmental claims and sustainability labels.

For companies, this means that environmental claims must be clear, transparent, and verifiable. At the same time, communicating specific, verified product characteristics is becoming increasingly important.

This is precisely where TÜV PROFiCERT-product Interior offers an important starting point.

For companies planning to pursue a new certification

With TÜV PROFiCERT-product Interior, manufacturers can transparently communicate verified product characteristics while relying on an independent certification system.

The certification process includes, among other things, a health assessment of products based on defined emission requirements. Tests are conducted, for example, based on the AgBB scheme as well as the ISO 16000 and EN 16516 standards. Depending on the type of certificate, specific statements regarding tested properties can be included. For example, the TÜV PROFiCERT-product Interior PREMIUM certification specifies particularly low limit values for TVOC.

The benefit for communication: Instead of using “sustainability” as a blanket marketing claim, companies can point to specific, verified, and documented product characteristics.

Expand Certification to Include Environmental Criteria

Of particular interest is the option to expand the certification to include recycled content or bio-based material content—both for new certifications and for existing ones.

The award criteria expressly stipulate that relevant information may be included in the certificate based on ISO 14021:2021. Among other things, this includes methodology, product composition, material suppliers, supplier documentation, formulations, and material balances, all of which are reviewed on a random basis as part of the audit.

For example, statements such as “At least 35% recycled content” may be included in the certificate, provided that the relevant requirements are met.

From Certification to Robust Product Communication

For those interested in the program: Certification provides you with a verified basis for communicating defined product characteristics—including information on recycled content or the proportion of bio-based materials.

For existing certificate holders: Consider whether you would like to add information about recycled content or bio-based material content to your existing certificate in order to strengthen your product messaging in a targeted way.

In this way, certification becomes a concrete communication tool for addressing the requirements of evolving environmental advertising laws.