The entry into force of Directive (EU) 2024/825 will mark a decisive change in the way companies and tourist destinations communicate sustainability. As of September 27, 2026, environmental claims, sustainability labels, and any message related to sustainable tourism must be supported by verifiable and understandable evidence, promoting a more transparent and rigorous communication model for companies and tourist destinations.
Sustainability has become one of the main communication arguments across many economic sectors and, especially, in the tourism industry.
Hotels, travel agencies, restaurants, tour operators, accommodations, destinations, municipalities, and regions are increasingly using expressions such as “sustainable tourism,” “green destination,” “responsible experience,” or “environmentally friendly accommodation” to differentiate their offerings and respond to a demand that is increasingly aware of the environmental and social impact of travel.
However, as of September 2026, the way these types of messages are used will undergo a significant change throughout the European Union.
On September 27, 2026, Directive (EU) 2024/825, known as the Anti-Greenwashing Directive or the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, will begin to apply. Its purpose is to strengthen consumer protection against unfair commercial practices, misleading environmental claims, and sustainability labels that lack the necessary transparency and guarantees.
This new regulation represents a true turning point for sustainability communication. From its entry into force, it will no longer be sufficient to make generic statements about an organization’s environmental commitment. Each message will need to be supported by objective information, verifiable evidence, public criteria, transparent methodologies, and, where appropriate, independent verification processes.
For companies and tourist destinations, this new scenario represents much more than regulatory adaptation. It is an opportunity to strengthen the trust of travelers, consumers, and stakeholders through communication based on demonstrable facts rather than solely on statements of intent.
Directive (EU) 2024/825 modifies the European framework for consumer protection with the aim of ensuring that all environmental information used for commercial purposes is clearer, more reliable, understandable, and comparable.
With this initiative, the European Union seeks to prevent companies, brands, or destinations from using environmental messages that may mislead or create in consumers a perception of sustainability greater than what can actually be demonstrated through data and evidence.
In the tourism sector, this issue takes on special relevance. This is because, in just a few years, sustainability has become one of the factors that more and more travelers take into account when choosing accommodation, an experience, a restaurant, or a destination. Precisely for this reason, any communication related to environmental, social, or governance aspects must meet higher standards of rigor and transparency.
In fact, the risk of greenwashing can manifest itself in virtually any communication channel used by the tourism sector. Corporate websites, booking engines, international promotional campaigns, social media, commercial brochures, trade fairs, signage, proprietary labels, territorial brands, tourism experiences, or sales materials are some of the areas where this new regulation will have a direct impact.
For this reason, the Directive does not affect only large corporations. It also applies to small and medium-sized tourism businesses, accommodations, restaurants, travel agencies, operators, tourism-related retail businesses, destination management entities, and tourism promotion organizations.
The underlying change is easy to understand, although its implications are profound. Communicating sustainability will still be possible, but it must be done with a higher level of precision, proportionality, and documentary support. The focus shifts from the message to the real ability to demonstrate what is being communicated.
Directive (EU) 2024/825 was approved in 2024 and established that Member States must incorporate it into their respective legal systems before March 27, 2026.
However, its provisions will begin to apply effectively as of September 27, 2026, from which date the new obligations will be fully enforceable in all countries of the European Union.
For companies and tourist destinations, this timeline makes it advisable to review all sustainability-related communication well in advance. Waiting until the last moment could increase the risk of maintaining environmental claims, labels, or messages that lack the necessary documentary support or do not meet the new requirements established by the regulation.
In this context, it is useful to clarify what is meant by a claim or environmental claim.
An environmental claim is any statement, expression, message, label, or commercial declaration through which a company, product, service, or destination communicates a benefit, an improvement, or a commitment related to sustainability or the environment.
These are not limited to advertising slogans. Environmental claims may also include taglines used in promotional campaigns, product labels, icons displayed on a website, social media posts, commercial texts included on booking platforms, or any other element that leads consumers to perceive an offering as more sustainable.
Under the new European framework, these claims must be truthful, understandable, specific, up to date, and supported by sufficient evidence to justify the message being communicated.
September 27, 2026, will mark a turning point for all organizations that communicate commitments related to sustainability. From that date onward, any environmental message directed at consumers must meet higher standards of precision, transparency, and documentary support.
This new reality affects a wide range of organizations. From companies that market products and services to public administrations, territorial brands, commercialization platforms, certifications, tourism promotion entities, and destinations that incorporate sustainability as part of their positioning.
The Directive is not limited to the tourism sector. Its scope extends to any economic activity that uses environmental arguments in its commercial communication. This includes sectors such as food, fashion, cosmetics, mobility, energy, technology, retail, or hospitality, among many others.
However, for tourism, its relevance is particularly significant. Sustainability has become one of the main factors of competitive differentiation and is increasingly part of travelers’ purchasing decisions. Choosing a destination, accommodation, or experience no longer depends solely on price or location; it is also influenced by the perception of environmental, social, and cultural responsibility conveyed by each organization.
In this new scenario, environmental claims must avoid generic or absolute statements and be supported by specific, verifiable, and easily accessible information for consumers.
The issue will no longer be only what is communicated, but how what is communicated can be demonstrated.
For companies and tourist destinations, September 2026 therefore represents an opportunity to review their communication strategy and strengthen the trust of travelers, customers, and stakeholders through messages supported by objective facts and verifiable evidence.
One of the most relevant aspects of the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive is the strengthening of control over environmental claims used in commercial communication.
The new regulation limits the use of generic expressions related to sustainability when they cannot be adequately justified.
Terms such as “green,” “eco,” “sustainable,” “environmentally friendly,” “climate responsible,” or “planet-friendly” may still be used, but only when they are accompanied by a clear explanation of their scope and sufficient information to understand which specific aspects support that claim.
In other words, the message must be proportional to the available evidence.
The Directive also introduces a higher level of requirements regarding sustainability labels and distinctions.
Displaying a logo or certification will no longer be sufficient if it is not backed by a transparent certification system based on public criteria, verifiable methodologies, and independent evaluation mechanisms, or if the label has not been established by a public authority.
This change aims to strengthen consumer trust and to differentiate those certification systems that truly verify compliance with sustainability commitments from those labels created solely for promotional purposes.
The ultimate objective is not to reduce communication about sustainability, but to increase its credibility.
The practical application of the Directive can be better understood through some common examples within the tourism sector.
It will be advisable to review expressions such as:
In all these cases, the issue does not lie only in the use of certain terms, but in the ability to objectively demonstrate what is being communicated.
Transparency ceases to be a complementary element and becomes one of the fundamental pillars of environmental communication.
Tourism is an activity largely based on trust.
When a person books a hotel, purchases an experience, or chooses a destination, they do not only compare prices, services, or location. They increasingly pay attention to aspects related to environmental management, relationships with local communities, heritage conservation, accessibility, sustainable mobility, or the contribution of tourism to territorial development.
For this reason, greenwashing takes on a particularly sensitive dimension within the tourism sector.
The reality is that imprecise environmental communication does not only affect the company that issues it; it can also damage the reputation of the destination, weaken traveler trust, and create uncertainty about the overall system of existing sustainability certifications.
Therefore, in a market where sustainability constitutes an important factor of competitiveness, credibility becomes one of the main assets.
In fact, organizations that are able to demonstrate their commitments through verifiable evidence will be better positioned to respond both to travelers’ expectations and to the new European regulatory requirements.
Hotels, tourist accommodations, travel agencies, operators, restaurants, activity companies, and tourism-related businesses will need to progressively review their environmental messages.
The recommendation is to replace general statements with concrete and easily verifiable information.
It will become increasingly important to explain which actions have been implemented, which indicators are used to measure the results obtained, who verifies those commitments, and where this information can be accessed.
This change will make it possible to build much stronger and more credible communication for consumers, public administrations, investors, and business partners.
Tourist destinations must also adapt the way they communicate sustainability.
Institutional strategies, territorial brands, business engagement programs, and promotional campaigns must be supported by objective criteria and methodologies that make it possible to explain how sustainability in the territory is actually managed.
A sustainable destination cannot be based solely on an aspirational statement.
It needs governance mechanisms, public indicators, action plans, monitoring processes, and tools that allow for the periodic evaluation of the progress achieved.
Only in this way will it be possible to build trust among visitors, citizens, companies, and institutions, and to develop a reputation based on verifiable facts.
In this new regulatory scenario, marked by greater demands in terms of transparency and credibility, Biosphere offers companies and tourist destinations a methodological framework that facilitates the transition from declared sustainability to demonstrable sustainability.
The key lies not only in communicating commitments, but in structuring, measuring, and verifying them. To this end, the Biosphere methodology makes it possible to organize evidence, link the actions carried out to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), integrate ESG criteria (Environmental, Social, and Governance), and facilitate external evaluation processes that provide trust and credibility.
This approach is part of the Biosphere ecosystem promoted by the Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI), which integrates the Biosphere digital platform, the Biosphere Certified distinction for companies and Biosphere Certified Destination for destinations, as well as a methodology focused on continuous improvement, traceability, and independent verification.
Rather than understanding certification as a simple communication element, this model proposes incorporating sustainability into the daily management of organizations through indicators, action plans, and monitoring processes that make it possible to demonstrate real progress over time.
This approach is particularly relevant in the context of Directive (EU) 2024/825, as it enables organizations to support their environmental messages with objective information, public criteria, and verifiable evidence.
In other words, sustainability is no longer understood as a narrative, but as a management system.
The implementation of the new European framework also coincides with an international process aimed at strengthening the quality and credibility of sustainability certifications in the tourism sector.
In this context, the participation of Biosphere as a founding member of the Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance (TSCA) reinforces its commitment to the development of increasingly robust, transparent, and internationally recognized standards.
The TSCA brings together some of the leading tourism sustainability certifications with the aim of promoting cooperation among systems, advancing common criteria, and strengthening trust in certification as a real tool for transforming the sector.
This international collaboration responds to a growing need. In an environment where travelers, public administrations, companies, and investors demand greater transparency, it is essential that certifications share principles of methodological rigor, independence, and comparability.
Beyond granting a distinction, the purpose is to help companies and destinations integrate sustainability into their management processes and to communicate their progress clearly, consistently, and supported by evidence.
The new European Directive moves precisely in that same direction.
All indications suggest that, from now on, organizations will need to demonstrate more precisely what they communicate. In this context, having structured methodologies and independent verification processes becomes strategically important.
On the occasion of the entry into application of Directive (EU) 2024/825, Biosphere plans to organize an informational webinar during the second half of September 2026, a few days before the new regulation begins to apply.
The aim of this session will be to explain, from a practical perspective, the main developments introduced by the Directive, analyze its implications for companies and tourist destinations, and provide recommendations for adapting environmental communication to the new European regulatory framework.
During the webinar, topics related to the development of environmental claims, the use of sustainability certifications, the importance of traceability, and best practices for communicating environmental commitments with transparency and rigor will also be addressed.
Biosphere will soon announce the final date and the registration process through its usual communication channels.
Directive (EU) 2024/825, known as the Anti-Greenwashing Directive or the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, should not be interpreted as a limitation on the communication of sustainability.
On the contrary, it represents an opportunity to raise the quality of the information received by consumers and to strengthen trust in those organizations that work rigorously to integrate sustainability into their management.
In this new scenario, communicating sustainability will remain essential, but it will require a higher level of responsibility.
It will be necessary to clearly explain what is done, how it is done, what results are achieved, and what evidence supports each commitment.
Companies, destinations, and organizations that begin now to review their messages, organize their evidence, and rely on transparent methodologies will be better prepared to adapt to the new European requirements, reduce legal and reputational risks, and strengthen trust-based relationships with travelers, customers, and stakeholders.
Ultimately, the real challenge of 2026 will not be to communicate less about sustainability. It will be to communicate it better, with greater precision, with greater transparency, and with greater traceability.
And, above all, with the ability to demonstrate that each environmental commitment is supported by real, measurable, and verifiable actions. Because sustainability will no longer be measured only by what an organization claims to do, but by what it can prove with facts.
This is precisely the paradigm shift driven by the new European regulation and the path toward more honest, responsible communication aligned with the expectations of a society that demands ever greater transparency.
In this context, sustainability ceases to be only a differentiating factor and becomes an exercise in credibility. Organizations that are able to integrate continuous improvement into their management and communicate it rigorously will be better positioned to face an increasingly demanding market and a constantly evolving regulatory environment.
This is also the purpose that inspires the work of Biosphere, to support companies and tourist destinations in integrating sustainability through a methodology based on objective criteria, verifiable indicators, and continuous improvement processes that transform commitments into results and communication into trust.