AFM tells financial firms to bring green claims in line with EU rules
The Dutch financial watchdog says banks, insurers and other firms must now meet EU bans on vague "green" claims, meant to protect consumers from misleading sustainability claims and help them make better-informed choices, and that it can already enforce them.
The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) has called on the firms it supervises to check their sustainability claims against the EU directive Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT), in force since July 2026. The directive sets specific requirements and explicit bans for sustainability claims, labels and claims about future sustainability performance.
The rules apply to firms including banks, insurers, investment firms, investment institutions, advisers, intermediaries, credit providers, crowdfunding service providers and crypto service providers. They apply in addition to the information standards under the Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht, Wft). The AFM says they can affect claims about financial products, marketing of sustainable funds, insurance, loans and savings products, and statements about a firm's own sustainability.
What the rules require of firms
- Generic terms such as 'sustainable' (duurzaam), 'green' (groen) or 'environmentally friendly' (milieuvriendelijk) may only be used if a recognised excellent environmental performance can be shown, through the EU Ecolabel or an officially recognised national or regional label.
- Claims that a product or service has no or limited climate impact may not rest only on offsetting emissions.
- Sustainability labels need a reliable certification scheme or a public scheme. Self-developed labels without independent verification are not allowed.
- Climate or net-zero targets must be backed by clear, objective and verifiable plans with measurable (interim) targets, timelines and monitoring.
The Dutch implementation act was published in the official gazette (Staatsblad) on 24 June 2026 and took effect on 16 July 2026. It amends Book 6 of the Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek). The AFM says firms must comply now and that it can already enforce the rules.
The AFM says that once a claim is covered by one of the bans, it is prohibited in all circumstances, even if the Wft says nothing about it. The directive also bars giving the impression that a whole product or company is sustainable when the claim covers only part of it.
The ECGT is a general consumer-law framework and does not affect sector-specific obligations, such as those under SFDR, MiFID, IDD and the Wft.
AFM (Autoriteit Financiële Markten)
The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, which supervises financial markets and how financial firms treat consumers and investors.