Three days ago, the EU made something official that most companies haven't noticed yet.
On June 30, the European Commission announced a coordinated enforcement framework across all member states for the new rules against greenwashing.
The directive has been national law since March. It applies from September 27.
That is 86 days from now.
The rules are specific. Vague environmental labels — "eco-friendly," "green," "sustainable" — are now banned unless backed by verifiable evidence. Self-certified sustainability badges no longer count. The companies that built their communications around these claims have less than three months to rebuild them.
What surprised me about this week's announcement was not the enforcement itself.
It was the framing.
The Commission explicitly said authorities would "prioritize dialogue over sanctions" during the transition — weighing "genuine practical difficulties" before issuing penalties.
That sounds reassuring. It isn't, necessarily.
Here is what it actually means: the companies that go to regulators in October saying "we didn't know, we're working on it" will get dialogue. The companies that go in saying "here is our updated claim, here is the evidence behind it, here is our timeline" will get trust.
One of those positions costs months of reactive scramble. The other was built in the three months before the deadline.
The pattern I keep seeing.
In every company navigating this well, someone translated this directive into specific language, specific claims, and specific evidence requirements — and got leadership to act on it before September.
Not because they had better legal advice.
Because they had the authority inside their organization to make the signal land before it became urgent.
That gap — between understanding a regulatory shift and being heard on it in time — is the one I work on directly with people.
If September feels closer than your organization's readiness — reply directly.
These conversations are where the most useful work happens.
André Rodríguez
Founder | SustainMotion360
Data reference: European Commission / Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, June 30, 2026 · Brussels Signal, July 1, 2026