Tackling greenwashing is an issue where human rights, consumer rights and climate goals align. Companies use greenwashing to convince people to buy products that are not always as environmentally friendly as they claim to be. They mislead consumers and harm the environment. This report shows how a human rights approach can combat greenwashing. It is based on consultations with experts in 10 Member States. The report identifies gaps in existing laws and enforcement. It includes case studies of consumers seeking remedies for misleading environmental claims.
These documents were commissioned under contract as background material for comparative analysis by the FRA for the project ‘Business and human rights: promoting environmental protection through enforcement of consumer rights’. The information and views contained in the documents do not necessarily reflect the views or the official position of the FRA. The documents are made publicly available for transparency and information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.
This factsheet outlines key judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) relating to the intersection of climate change and human rights. The issues examined include territorial jurisdiction, standards of protection, standing and victim status, and procedural guarantees in climate-related cases, including the rights of access to information. It is intended to assist legal practitioners, policymakers, and researchers in understanding and applying the evolving human rights jurisprudence in the context of climate change within the European legal space.
This publication discusses how businesses can meet their human rights and environmental responsibilities. It focuses on key elements of mandatory human rights due diligence and presents reflections on principles from international law and EU law. The paper explains why risk-based human rights due diligence is needed and how it should be implemented. It also highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement, access to remedies, and oversight. It aims to inform EU policymakers and stakeholders about ways to effectively promote responsible business conduct and to ensure adequate protection of rightsholders.
Climate change affects the daily lives of everyone in the EU and has significant environmental, economic, social and health impacts. To tackle this, the European Green Deal was adopted in 2019. This report examines the Green Deal from a fundamental rights perspective, with the aim of protecting the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment for all. It highlights the lack of fundamental rights in EU climate policy and the need to incorporate these rights into future legislation. It also considers how applying a human-rights-based approach to climate policy could support a fair and inclusive transition.
National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are a vital part of the country-level human rights protection system. By raising awareness, providing advice, monitoring and holding authorities to account, they have a central role in navigating the great human rights challenges of our day – tackling both persistent concerns like discrimination and inequality, and novel issues such as the rights implications of artificial intelligence and of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Business activity affects not just customers, employees, and contractors along supply chains, but often entire communities and the environment. This makes it vital that every business complies with human rights. This comparative report looks at the realities victims face when they seek redress for business-related human rights abuses. It presents the findings of fieldwork research on the views of professionals regarding the different ways people can pursue complaints. The findings highlight that obstacles to achieving justice are often multi-layered.
National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are a vital part of the country-level human rights protection system. This report, published 10 years after FRA’s first in-depth study on NHRIs, looks at such bodies in the EU, as well as the Republic of North Macedonia, the Republic of Serbia, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It explores relevant developments, challenges to their effectiveness and ways to maximise their impact.