Germany

Status of the current legislative process

The German Government published their draft of the law implementing Empowering Consumers into national law on 7 July 2025.  

Link to the draft (if available) 

The draft is available here (in German only).  

Does the implementation go beyond EmpCo requirements? 

No

Are there any comments from relevant authorities on the interpretation or enforcement of the national implementation?  

At the draft stage, German ministries (often the Federal Ministry of Justice or the Federal Ministry for the Environment for environmental aspects), consumer protection associations (e.g., Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband, or vzbv), trade associations, and competition authorities (such as the Bundeskartellamt) routinely publish comments or position papers. 

The German Trade Association has commented on the draft and overall, agrees with the proposal (see here - in German only). 

Will the national implementation be applied in a Business-To-Business (B2B) context? 

They are not applied directly, but they are used in spirit and as guidelines.  

Whenever the blacklisted behaviours do not specifically protect consumers, courts tend to take the blacklist as guidelines for interpreting the lawfulness of B2B behaviour.  

Is there a green claims guide/guidance in your country? 

No

What are the sanctions and penalties?  

No new sanctions are introduced. 

A key remedy under the UWG is the ability for claimants—often competitors or consumer associations—to seek an injunction prohibiting further use or repetition of the unfair practice. 

In cases where an unfair practice has caused actual loss to a competitor or other claimant, the injured party can seek compensation. Sections of the UWG enable certain qualified entities, such as consumer associations, to claim the disgorgement (or skimming off) of illicit gains that have arisen from unfair competition.  

While many UWG provisions are enforced primarily through civil actions (brought by competitors, associations, or chambers of commerce), certain infringements can be subject to administrative fines.  

Does the national implementation answer the following questions:  

(1) whether sustainability labels can take the form of text; 
(2) whether generic environmental claims can be used or are they banned unless you have recognised excellent environmental performance; 
(3) whether GHG impact claims based on GHG offsets are banned only if offsets are the sole basis, or even if offsets and GHG reductions are combined.

(i) The draft does not explicitly address this question. In the context with sustainability labels established by government agencies the draft mentions that these include logos. However, the draft does not explicitly exclude text.  

(ii) ‘Generic environmental claim’ is defined as a claim made in writing or orally, including via audiovisual media, which is not contained in a sustainability label and where the specification of the environmental claim is not clearly and prominently indicated on the same medium. Making a general environmental claim if the entrepreneur cannot demonstrate the underlying recognised excellent environmental performance.  

(iii) Advertising a product with a CO2 compensation statement (e.g. ‘this product is climate neutral’) is considered misleading if the climate neutrality of the product is achieved, for example, through the purchase of CO2 certificates. Compensation statements are only permissible if they are based on the actual impact on the life cycle of the product concerned and do not refer to the compensation of greenhouse gas emissions outside the product's value chain. A product-related CO2 compensation statement such as ‘climate neutral’ appears to remain permissible if the product is CO2 neutral throughout its entire life cycle (production, use, disposal).  

Companies are not prevented from promoting their investments in environmental initiatives (including the purchase of CO2 certificates).