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Upcoming amendments to the Civil Code and the Consumer Protection Act. How is greenwashing related to the travel industry?
Another draft amendment to the Consumer Protection Act and the Civil Code is heading to the Chamber of Deputies. As this amendment primarily transposes obligations laid down by EU directives, it is almost certain to be approved by Parliament.
The amendment addresses two key issues: the ban on so-called greenwashing and the right to repair goods. Greenwashing is something that may also affect businesses operating in the travel industry. Simply put, greenwashing means misleading consumers about the environmental characteristics of a product or service. Following the amendment, greenwashing will be classified as an unfair commercial practice under the Consumer Protection Act.
This will primarily mean a ban on misleading customers by the businesses operating in the travel industry about the environmental impact of a package holiday or individual tourism services, unless such claims are objectively verifiable, for example, through certification. In practice, this means that businesses should refrain from statements such as “travel with zero carbon footprint” or “our services are sustainable” unless they have objective evidence or official certification to support such claims. So-called offsets are also generally prohibited – that is, claims about the possibility of compensating for a carbon footprint. For example, offering customers compensation for the carbon footprint of their flight by planting trees. Likewise, it will be prohibited to apply environmental claims to an entire package holiday if they are objectively true only in relation to part of it.
In the event of a breach of these obligations, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (ČOI) may impose a fine of up to CZK 5 million.
You can read and follow the full legislative proposal here (In Czech).
If you have any questions regarding this issue or would like a more detailed explanation, or if you use environmental claims and would like to verify whether they comply with these requirements, please do not hesitate to contact us. We have been following this topic since its very beginnings at the EU level.
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