The European Union (EU) is gearing up for the passage of the Green Claims Directive, expected to come into effect in autumn 2024. The aim of the Directive is to ensure that environmental claims made within the EU are reliable, comparable, and verifiable. Its purpose is twofold: to protect consumers from greenwashing and to encourage informed purchasing decisions that support the circular and green economy in the EU. Additionally, the Directive seeks to create a level playing field for companies making environmental claims about their products.
Under the proposed legislation, EU member states will have 36 months following the Directive’s entry into force to transpose it into national laws, after which it will become enforceable.
UPM Plywood is already preparing for the upcoming EU Green Claims Directive, applying the same rigorous approach as it does for other regulatory requirements. The EU’s goal of ensuring reliable, comparable, and verifiable environmental claims aligns closely with UPM Plywood’s long-standing commitment to transparent and sustainable practices.
Anne Lihvonen, Senior Manager of Responsibility at UPM Group, and Jaakko Paloheimo, Sustainability Manager at UPM Plywood, are among those driving the company’s sustainability efforts, which are guided by UPM’s Aiming Higher initiative.
“Green Claims is just one new area of regulation that our expert organisation is constantly working on,” said Jaakko Paloheimo. “We always strive to develop our operations in accordance with both the authorities’ and our own high standards, so that our customers receive all the necessary factual information about our products and their environmental impacts throughout their life cycle.”
To support this, UPM Plywood provides product-specific Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Life Cycle Analyses (LCAs) for its WISA plywood, both of which are publicly available and help verify the environmental impact of its products.
UPM Ensures the Transparency of its Sustainability Claims
As early as the end of 2023, UPM established guidelines to guarantee the truthfulness and transparency of its sustainability communications. “In addition to environmental claims, our sustainability guidelines cover social responsibility and good governance,” added Lihvonen.
The company ensures that claims are comprehensive, covering the entire life cycle of a product or service—ranging from research and development, procurement, and product design, to labelling, marketing, and communication.
For example, UPM Plywood relies on trusted third-party certifications, such as FSC® (FSC C009856) and PEFC (PEFC/02-31-112), to verify the sourcing of raw materials for its WISA plywood. These certifications are already recognised and approved by EU authorities.
“UPM Plywood’s Responsibility Made Easy concept ensures that we link our claims to appropriate documentation and sources of information so that they can be verified, if necessary,” said Paloheimo, highlighting the ongoing updates made in response to the Green Claims Directive.
Green Claims Directive: Part of a Broader EU Green Transition Framework
The Green Claims Directive is part of a broader regulatory package aimed at driving the EU’s green transition. This includes the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), and the EU rules designed to empower consumers in the green transition.
UPM Plywood is already preparing to meet both the regulatory expectations and market demands. Much of the relevant information is already publicly available, and the company continuously updates its sustainability data with the precision required by the authorities.
“Naturally, we always update the information with the precision required by the authorities. The expertise of our organisation, as well as the accurate and appropriate documentation of our products, reduces our customers’ business risks as regards the responsibility of our products,” emphasised Paloheimo.
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