Ireland's greenwashing rules apply from 27 September 2026 (S.I. 124/2026). What hotels, restaurants and pubs can no longer claim, and a 30-day checklist.

Ireland's new greenwashing rules for hotels, restaurants and every other business selling to consumers took effect on 27 September 2026, and they change what you can print on a menu, a room card, a website or a booking listing. The European Union (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition) Regulations 2026, S.I. No. 124 of 2026, transpose EU Directive 2024/825 into Irish law by amending the Consumer Protection Act 2007 and the Consumer Rights Act 2022. From now on, a generic claim such as "eco-friendly", "green" or "sustainable" is an unfair commercial practice unless you can demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance behind it; a home-made "green hotel" badge is banned unless it rests on a proper certification scheme; and you cannot call a stay or a meal "carbon neutral" on the strength of offsetting. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission enforces the rules. If your venue has an "our sustainability" page, a towel card or a "planet-friendly" menu line, it is worth ten minutes to read what follows.

What are the new greenwashing rules in Ireland and when did they start?

Directive (EU) 2024/825 amends the EU's Unfair Commercial Practices Directive to add a set of environmental practices to the "blacklist" of things that are always unfair. Member States had to adopt their measures by 27 March 2026 and apply them from 27 September 2026. Ireland did exactly that: the European Union (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition) Regulations 2026 were made on 27 March and came into operation on 27 September, inserting the new prohibited practices into section 55 of the Consumer Protection Act 2007.

Because they sit inside the Consumer Protection Act, the new practices carry the Act's existing enforcement machinery. The CCPC's guidance for business refers to compliance notices, prohibition orders and, in more serious cases, criminal prosecution. Law firm commentary also notes that breaches fall within the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Act 2023, so a qualified consumer body can bring a collective action. Separately, a broader EU Green Claims Directive, which would have required pre-approval of claims, has not progressed; the rules described here are the ones that actually bind Irish venues today.

Which four practices matter most for hotels, restaurants and pubs?

The Regulations add a number of new practices covering software updates, durability and spare parts, which mostly concern manufacturers and retailers. Four of them land squarely on hospitality.

1. Generic environmental claims. It is now an unfair practice to make "a generic environmental claim, where the trader is not able to demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to that claim". The Directive defines a generic environmental claim as one "where the specification of the claim is not provided in clear and prominent terms on the same medium". In plain terms: "eco-friendly rooms", "green hotel", "sustainable dining" or "environmentally conscious" on their own, with nothing beside them explaining exactly what is meant, are out, unless your venue holds something like the EU Ecolabel or an equivalent ISO 14024 Type I label that proves excellent performance for the thing you are claiming.

2. Sustainability labels. Displaying "a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme or not established by a public body" is prohibited. A certification scheme, in the Directive's terms, must be open to traders on transparent and non-discriminatory terms, have requirements developed with relevant experts and stakeholders, have procedures for dealing with non-compliance, and have compliance monitored by an objective third party. A leaf icon your designer drew for the menu, or a "Green Choice" sticker you award yourself, does not qualify. A recognised third-party scheme does.

3. Offsetting claims. You may no longer make "a claim, based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment". "Carbon-neutral stay", "climate-positive coffee" and "we offset every booking, so your trip is net zero" are gone, however reputable the offset provider. You can still say that you buy offsets; you cannot use them to describe the stay or the meal as neutral.

4. Legal requirements dressed up as virtues. It is unfair to present "requirements imposed by any enactment or otherwise imposed by law on all products within the relevant product category" as a distinctive feature of your offer. Advertising that you have stopped giving out free single-use plastic straws or cutlery, or that you charge for a cup under rules that apply to everyone, is not a selling point you can claim as your own.

The Directive also bans claims about future environmental performance, such as "net zero by 2030", unless they rest on clear, objective, publicly available and verifiable commitments set out in a detailed implementation plan with measurable, time-bound targets and independent verification.

What does this mean for the words on your website, menu and room card?

The test the CCPC sets out is simple: businesses must be able to prove that what they say about a product or service is factual, verifiable and backed up by evidence, and claims should be meaningful, accurate and clearly linked to the product or service. Applied to a venue, that means replacing adjectives with actions.

• "Eco-friendly hotel" becomes "Towels and linen are changed on request rather than daily; rooms have refillable toiletries; 100% of our electricity is purchased on a renewable tariff" (only if each is true and documented).
• "Sustainable menu" becomes "Beef from named Irish farms; fish from the Irish day-boat fleet; menu changes with the season" with the specifics on the same page or card.
• "Green breakfast" becomes "Cereal, juice and milk served from bulk dispensers; no single-serve sachets or portion packs."
• "Carbon-neutral stay" is removed, or becomes a factual sentence about what you have measured and reduced, without the word "neutral".
• A self-made badge is removed, or replaced by the logo of a certification scheme you actually hold, used within that scheme's rules.

Pay particular attention to third-party listings. The claim is yours wherever it appears, including your profile on booking platforms and tourism directories, so check those fields as carefully as your own site. Many platforms have already tightened their own sustainability badges, and the Regulations give them a further reason to remove anything you cannot evidence.

A compliance checklist for the next 30 days

• Pull every environmental word from your website, booking listings, menus, room folders, table cards, signage and social media templates into one list.
• For each, ask: is it specific, is it true today, and can I show the evidence (an invoice, a certificate, a supplier declaration, a policy that staff actually follow)? Rewrite or delete anything that fails.
• Remove any self-created eco badge, icon or "award". Keep only labels from certification schemes you hold or labels established by a public body, and check the scheme's logo rules.
• Delete offset-based "neutral", "net zero" or "climate-positive" wording. If you buy offsets, describe that as a fact, not as a result.
• Replace claims about legally required practices (single-use plastics rules, deposit return, cup charges) with claims about things you choose to do.
• Check future pledges. If you cannot show a published plan with measurable milestones and independent verification, soften them to present-tense facts.
• Brief the team. Front-of-house staff repeat what the menu says; if the menu says "sustainable", so will they.
• Keep an evidence file for each remaining claim, so a CCPC query can be answered the same day.

Does this apply to cafés, pubs and B&Bs too?

Yes. The Regulations apply to every trader dealing with consumers in Ireland, regardless of size, sector or whether the sale happens over the counter, on the phone or online. A B&B with a single-page website and a Facebook profile is caught just as a hotel group is. The difference is scale of exposure: a group's claims reach more consumers and attract more scrutiny, but a small venue is also less likely to have paperwork behind a well-meant phrase, so the audit above is worth doing even if your only "claim" is a line on your breakfast menu.

The constructive side is that the rules reward operators who have actually done the work. If you have moved to dispensers, refillables, reusable cups and sachet-free tables, you can now say so in precise terms and stand out from the venues whose "eco" claims have just become unusable.

Frequently asked questions

When did the new greenwashing rules take effect in Ireland? On 27 September 2026, under the European Union (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition) Regulations 2026, S.I. No. 124/2026, which transpose EU Directive 2024/825.

Can I still say my hotel is "eco-friendly"? Only if you can demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to that claim, for example a recognised ecolabel for the service you are describing. Otherwise replace it with specific, evidenced statements about what you do.

Can I keep our own "green" badge on the menu? No. Sustainability labels must be based on a third-party certification scheme or established by a public body. Self-created badges and icons are prohibited.

We offset our emissions. Can we call a stay carbon neutral? No. Claims that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive environmental impact based on offsetting are banned. You may state as a fact that you purchase offsets.

Who enforces this and what happens if we get it wrong? The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. The practices sit within the Consumer Protection Act 2007, and the CCPC's guidance refers to compliance notices, prohibition orders and, in serious cases, prosecution. Breaches may also be the subject of consumer representative actions.

How CWDH can help

CWDH supplies the equipment behind claims you can prove: cereal, juice and milk dispensers that replace portion packs at breakfast, sachet-free table sets with lidded sugar bowls and cruets, porcelain coffee cups for reusable service, jugs and bottles for table water, and Securit chalkboards and menu displays for writing the specifics where guests can read them. Email us at info@cwdh.ie for trade pack quantities sized to your covers.

Sources: S.I. No. 124/2026 – European Union (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition) Regulations 2026 · Directive (EU) 2024/825 (EUR-Lex) · CCPC guidance for business · Department of Enterprise: Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition · McCann FitzGerald: key implications for businesses

This guide is a plain-English summary, not legal advice — see S.I. No. 124/2026 for the full text.

Photo: Andrew Neel / Unsplash. Other images: CWDH.

 

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B&B cafés CCPC compliance consumer law EU regulation hotels Ireland pubs restaurants sustainability

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