Category: Sustainability
The Truth Behind “100% Recycled” Plastic Bottles: Exposing Greenwashing
In today's age of expanded environmental consciousness, phrases like "100% recycled" or "100% recyclable" plastered across plastic bottle packaging might seem like a beacon of sustainability. However, the truth is far from that and it’s time for authorities to crack...
Consumers need more access to clean heating solutions
Appliances like the gas boiler may keep many of us warm in the depths of winter, but they are also heating up the planet. Eoin Kelly and Sebastien Pant write that the status quo is untenable and politician need to...
Train of thought: what the EU needs for a reliable rail system
What makes a good EU-wide railway system for consumers? Our mobility expert Robin Loos hopped on the first Brussels-Prague night train and shares a little bit of his experience aboard and a lot of BEUC’s solutions to make rail work...
Can you spot greenwashing? Consumer experiences in the EU and the US
Consumers need trustworthy environmental information to shift to a more sustainable lifestyle, but misleading claims are all around. A recent survey by BEUC dived into consumers' perceptions of this greenwashing.
Green Santa is coming to town – a year clamping down on greenwashing
BEUC has been involved in fighting greenwashing for many years and 2023 was the year where we stepped up our game. We expanded our effort cross-teams, looking at different areas of consumers’ lives and how we can make them free...
Sandra Lima, BEUC Consumer Rights Team, BEUC Consumer Redress and Enforcement Team, BEUC Sustainability Team and BEUC Food Team /
December 20, 2023
Car electrification must go hand-in-hand with promoting alternatives to car use
Consumers must be able to break out of a mobility system that fundamentally relies on fossil fuels. Both car electrification as well as the promotion of alternatives to car use are needed here.
Safe and eco-friendly period: menstrual cups to the rescue
This month, the EU Ecolabel – Europe’s trustworthy green label – introduces stronger requirements for hygiene products, writes Miriam Thiemann. We’re having a closer look at the newcomer - menstrual cups – and answer some common questions.
Carbon-neutral food? Too good to be true
‘Carbon neutral’, ‘CO2 neutral’, ‘carbon positive’, ‘carbon neutral certified’. These days it’s difficult to miss these powerful claims on products and services when we’re shopping. The supermarket shelves are no exception: from bananas to pork, blueberries to milk, the variety...
The EU has become an environmental policy champion – time to go the last mile
In the span of just four years, environmentally friendly measures went from seen as hampering economic progress to part of economic policymaking. In our retrospective about BEUC’s 60 years of existence, we coined the current decade the ‘transformational 2020s’. And...
Rules for sustainable products are one side of the coin. Enforcing them is the other.
It is encouraging for consumers that the EU is working on rules to make products sustainable by design. But if policymakers are serious about delivering, they should not forget about the “on the ground” aspect, argues BEUC’s Monique Goyens. This...