Success story

Communicating Green Claims in Compliance with Regulations
– in Switzerland and the EU

By providing practical guidance on the requirements of the Swiss Unfair Competition Act (UWG) and the European EmpCo Directive, Fokus Zukunft helped Viterma align its sustainability communications in a way that is both sound and future-proof. Existing green claims were reviewed, categorized, and assessed for potential risks—with a focus on communications in Switzerland and the European market.

Details of our
success story

  • Customer: Viterma AG
  • High-Quality Bathroom Renovation and Remodeling
  • Industry: Construction

Challenges of the customer

Viterma communicates sustainability and environmental aspects across various touchpoints with customers and business partners. These include website content, product and service descriptions, marketing materials, and sales communications.

Against the backdrop of increasing regulatory requirements, Viterma needed to determine which environmental claims could continue to be used and which statements needed to be specified, adapted, or substantiated. General environmental and sustainability claims were particularly relevant, as statements without sufficient evidence or clear context could potentially be perceived as misleading.

As Viterma is based in Switzerland while also supplying customers across the DACH region, a dual perspective was required: on the one hand, raising awareness of the requirements for environmental claims under the Swiss Unfair Competition Act (UWG), and on the other, providing additional guidance on the European Empowering Consumers Directive (EmpCo), which is particularly relevant for communications targeting EU markets.

Our solution approach

Fokus Zukunft provided practical training and guidance for the relevant employees. The aim was to establish a shared understanding of the requirements that already apply to environmental claims under the Swiss UWG and of the additional requirements that the EmpCo Directive will introduce for environmental and sustainability claims.

In addition to the training, existing Green Claims used in the company’s communications were reviewed. Selected claims were assessed in terms of clarity, specificity, verifiability, and their potential to be misleading. Based on this assessment, Viterma received a practical risk evaluation as well as specific recommendations on which statements could be retained, which should be made more precise or supported by stronger evidence, and which should be adapted.

Rather than focusing on abstract regulatory theory, the emphasis was on applying the requirements directly to typical claims and communication scenarios from Viterma’s day-to-day business. The objective was to make future communications more robust, specific, transparent, and comprehensible.

Scope of the Collaboration

Step 1

Introduction to environmental claims:
The first step was to explain the key requirements for environmental and sustainability claims and provide an introduction to the relevant regulatory framework. Practical examples demonstrated why broad terms such as “sustainable”, “environmentally friendly”, or “climate-friendly”, as well as comparable statements, can be particularly sensitive if they are not clearly explained or supported by reliable evidence.

Step 2

Assessment under the Swiss UWG: A key focus was raising awareness of how environmental claims are assessed under the Swiss UWG and of the risks that can arise from vague, general, or insufficiently substantiated statements.

Step 3

Additional consideration of the EmpCo Directive: As Viterma also supplies customers throughout the DACH region, the requirements and objectives of the EmpCo Directive were additionally addressed. This included explaining which developments at EU level are relevant for companies communicating across borders and why it already makes sense to ad

Step 4

Review of existing Green Claims: In a further step, Viterma’s communications across its various media and channels were reviewed and professionally assessed. Particular attention was paid to general environmental and sustainability claims, product- and service-related statements, and wording that could imply specific environmental benefits.

The result
of this success story

As a result of the training, guidance, and review of its existing Green Claims, Viterma now has a stronger understanding of the requirements for environmental claims in Switzerland as well as sustainability claims in the European context. Based on the review, the company was able to assess its existing communications systematically and make targeted adjustments where necessary.

The training has also prepared Viterma to continue developing its sustainability communications responsibly and to reduce potential greenwashing risks in the future. The combination of regulatory guidance, a strong practical focus, and the concrete review of existing claims proved particularly valuable.

“Sustainability and responsible communication are important topics for Viterma. Through the training and review of our Green Claims by Fokus Zukunft, we gained a better understanding of the requirements that apply to environmental claims in Switzerland and in the European context. The practical approach was particularly helpful: we now know what to look out for in our communications and how we can formulate environmental and sustainability claims more clearly, transparently, and with stronger supporting evidence in the future.”

– Stefan Bösch, Head of Marketing & Contact Center at Viterma AG

Portrait von Stefan Bösch

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