When does the EmpCo directive apply,
and which rules already apply?

One date has appeared everywhere: 27 September 2026. This is the application date set by the directive, and EmpCo (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition) has applied since then in countries that have transposed it. In France, the new prohibitions still await the transposing law, but some rules already apply: a company may be penalised today. This guide explains the timeline in order and the preparations your project requires.

This article covers the 4 points most often raised: the text's status, the dates, companies' current exposure and the time needed to achieve compliance.

1EmpCo was adopted in 2024; French transposition is pending

EmpCo is an EU directive adopted and published in 2024. The uncertainty lies in the stages between the adoption of a European text and its application to a French company.

Adopted and published in 2024

The European Parliament and the Council adopted the directive, officially Directive (EU) 2024/825, in early 2024, and it was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 6 March 2024. Since then, the text has bound the Union's 27 countries.

France has not yet transposed it, which offers companies no protection

Transposition means incorporating a European directive into national law. The EU sets the objective, and each country has a deadline to incorporate it into its own law, in its own words. France has not yet done so: the DDADUE bill containing the transposition was adopted by the Senate on 18 February 2026 and has still not been examined by the National Assembly. The European Commission even called France to account on 28 May 2026. You might assume that without a French law there is no risk. The following sections explain why this reasoning leaves you exposed.

2The 3 dates distinguish adoption, transposition and application

3 dates define the timeline.

• 28 February 2024: the directive is adopted.
• 27 March 2026: the deadline for France to transpose it into national law, which passed without transposition.
• 27 September 2026: the application date set by the directive. In countries that have transposed it, the new prohibitions have applied since that day; in France, they await the entry into force of the transposing law.

Why the gap exists: directives and regulations

The gap between adoption (2024) and application (2026) reflects the type of text: EmpCo is a directive. A European regulation applies as written, immediately, in every country. A directive sets an objective and lets each country incorporate it into national law within a given period, hence a timeline spread over 2 years.

3Existing French rules already expose businesses to penalties

A company may already be penalised in France without waiting for transposition: French law imposed penalties for greenwashing long before EmpCo.

Case study

Visual greenwashing is already punishable

"Our red meats come in green": a green background, an "organic" claim and a meadow in the background visually turn a beef burger into an "eco-friendly" product. Yet red meat remains one of the largest sources of food emissions (≈ 30 kg CO₂e/kg of beef, compared with 2 kg for pulses - ADEME Agribalyse, from the French Agency for Ecological Transition). The AB label (France's organic farming label) regulates farming practices, not the carbon footprint. This type of visual claim, without figures or evidence but with explicit environmental imagery, already falls under the French Consumer Code, without waiting for September 2026.

The rules already penalising greenwashing in France

• The offence of misleading commercial practices (French Consumer Code) has long prohibited misleading customers, even by implication, and a false green claim falls within it.
• The AGEC law (France's Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Act) already bans certain words on products and packaging, such as "biodegradable" or "environmentally friendly".
• The carbon neutrality decree (No. 2022-539) has made it punishable since 1 January 2023 to display "carbon neutral" in advertising without publishing the carbon footprint of the product or service over its life cycle, the pathway for reducing its emissions and the offsetting arrangements.

Evidence of enforcement: SHEIN, €40 million in 2025

In July 2025, more than a year before EmpCo's application date, the DGCCRF (the French consumer protection authority) fined SHEIN €40 million, including for environmental claims (in French) it could not substantiate. The fine was based entirely on law already in force. EmpCo extends this risk to the 27 Member States.

France's delay does not protect you

The argument that "no French law means no problem" fails for 2 reasons. The first is described above: France already imposes penalties under its own legislation. The second is that a judge hearing a dispute interprets French law in the light of the directive, a process known as consistent interpretation, and a competitor or consumer association may bring a case on that basis. To be precise, until it is transposed, the directive does not by itself create a new obligation between a company and its customers. The practical risk now lies in materials being finalised that will become unlawful as soon as the French law enters into force.

4Preparation takes months and depends on your project deadline

Allow 6 to 9 months, depending on the project: this is the average time needed to reword a claim, gather the evidence and have everything approved. 27 September 2026 has passed and the French law still has no application date: work begun today will not be completed until spring 2027. Your actual deadline depends on what you are preparing.

Redesigning a website or brochure for late 2026

Deadline: entry into force of the transposing law, for which no date is yet known. A website or brochure launched this autumn will remain in use beyond that: aim for EmpCo compliance from the design stage. Prepare 3 things in advance: an inventory of all claims in the drafts, page by page, the evidence behind each and a final review by the person responsible for that evidence. Our environmental claims review coordinates this work across marketing, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and legal teams, with an evidence file and proposed wording.

Launching a product with an environmental claim

Deadline: your launch date, because the French Consumer Code already applies. The strength of the evidence must match the claim. "80% recycled material, supported by a certificate" is quick to substantiate. "Eco-friendly product", used on its own, is already prohibited in France on a product or its packaging under the AGEC law, and will be prohibited across all media once EmpCo is transposed, unless it has an EU Ecolabel or an officially recognised ecolabel. A life cycle assessment (LCA) (in French) is not enough to justify it: it supports precise, quantified claims.

An existing "carbon neutrality" claim needs review now

Deadline: today. The neutrality decree has applied since 2023, so a page, report or packaging displaying "carbon neutral" already exposes the company to risk. There are two options: remove the claim (2 to 4 weeks), or retain it and compile the full evidence file (the product or service's carbon footprint over its life cycle, a reduction pathway and named offsetting projects). Once EmpCo is transposed, offset-based neutrality will be prohibited regardless of the file. On the underlying issue, remember that corporate carbon neutrality does not exist (in French).

5Our view at Projet Celsius

Start with your own deadline, a website redesign, product launch or annual report, and work back 6 to 9 months, rather than planning around a legislative date. This is the approach we use in our work. With 27 September 2026 now past and no date for the French law, this calculation means most companies need to start now. The question to ask today is whether your claims would withstand a call from a DGCCRF inspector.

6Key takeaways

• The timeline does not start in 2026: the neutrality decree has applied since 1 January 2023, and the DGCCRF already imposes penalties (SHEIN, €40 million, July 2025).
• EmpCo has applied since 27 September 2026 in countries that have transposed it; in France, the transposing law has not been passed.
• France's delay does not protect companies: national law already imposes penalties, and judges interpret French law in the light of the directive.
• Allow 6 to 9 months to achieve compliance, which means starting now.

5 dates summarise the issue: 1 January 2023 (the neutrality decree), 3 July 2025 (the SHEIN fine), 27 March 2026 (the missed transposition deadline), 27 September 2026 (application in countries that have transposed it) and Green Claims, the related text, still without a date. For details of what is prohibited, see what is EmpCo; to establish whether you are in scope, see who is affected; to substantiate a claim, see the method (in French).

Further resources

Frequently asked questions

1Has EmpCo already been adopted?

Yes. Directive (EU) 2024/825 was adopted and published in 2024 at European level. It still needs transposing into French law: the DDADUE bill, adopted by the Senate, has not yet been examined by the National Assembly. This delay does not remove the risk: French law already imposes penalties, and judges interpret it in the light of the directive.

2When does the Green Claims Directive apply?

The Green Claims Directive is a separate proposal related to EmpCo that was intended to require third-party verification of claims before publication. In 2025, the Commission announced its intention to withdraw it: it is suspended, with no application date.

3Does EmpCo cover a website that is already online?

Yes, as soon as the new rules apply in France. EmpCo covers communications visible on that date, not just new publications. A commitments page written in 2023 and still online falls within the scope.

4Is EmpCo a European directive or a French law?

A European directive, which France must transpose, or write into national law. Until this happens, its new prohibitions do not apply as written in France, but existing French law covers most greenwashing.

5Does it also cover small businesses?

Yes. EmpCo has no size or turnover threshold. See our article on who is affected by EmpCo for details.

Ask Sébastien your questionA personal reply within 24 working hours

Send my questionor: [email protected]