Skip to content

Restricted claim

“CO2 reduced”

Is “CO2 reduced” allowed under the EU Green Claims Directive (2024/825)?

Medium-risk claim Carbon & climate

Why it is restricted

A reduction claim is only meaningful against a stated baseline, scope and period. Without them the buyer cannot tell what was reduced or from what.

Say this instead

"CO2e per unit down 24% versus our 2022 baseline (scope 1-3, verified by TUV SUD)."

In English

  • “CO2-reduziert”
  • “CO2 réduit”
  • “CO2-gereduceerd”
  • “CO2 reducido”
  • “CO2 ridotta”
  • “CO2-vähendatud”
  • “CO2-vähennetty”
  • “CO2-reducerad”

Legal basis

UCPD Article 6(1)(b) and Article 2(p) as amended by Directive 2024/825 (environmental characteristics are a main characteristic; a claim is generic — and so caught by Annex I point 4a — where the specification is not given in clear and prominent terms on the same medium)

← All restricted claims

Related claims

“Carbon positive” High-risk claim “Reduced carbon footprint” Medium-risk claim “Carbon neutral” High-risk claim “Carbon negative” High-risk claim “Climate neutral” High-risk claim “Net zero” High-risk claim

Find these terms in your own copy

The scanner looks for every one of them, in context, and tells you which ones are actually a problem.

Scan a site See an example report