The Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement), in collaboration with the European Travel Commission (ETC) and NECSTouR, has released an updated edition of Proof, Not Promises: A Practical Guide to the EU Empowering Consumers Directive for Destinations, helping tourism and events organisations navigate new EU rules on environmental claims, the organisation said in Barcelona on 2 November 2026.

The updated guide follows the application, from 27 September 2026, of the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (EU) 2024/825, known as EmpCo. The legislation strengthens protections against misleading environmental claims and raises expectations for clear, specific, and evidence-based sustainability communication.

Since the original guide launched in April 2026, GDS-Movement has delivered consulting projects and sustainability storytelling masterclasses for city and national tourism organisations. Insights from this work, together with discussions with the European Union, industry associations and project partners, have informed the new edition, alongside updated legal analysis.

“Working with destinations and industry partners over the past six months has reinforced one important lesson: the challenge is not simply understanding the new rules, but putting them into practice. Sustainability communication must move beyond good intentions to credible claims backed by evidence. Our message is simple: don’t withhold or stop communicating your progress. Be more specific, more transparent, and better prepared to prove it,” said Guy Bigwood, CEO of GDS-Movement.

FIVE KEY IMPROVEMENTS

The new edition provides clearer, more practical guidance in five areas: updated Member State analysis of how EmpCo is being implemented across the EU; more precise guidance on who is affected, including destination management organisations, convention bureaux, public bodies acting commercially, tourism businesses and event organisers; expanded practical examples on high-risk environmental claims and avoiding greenwashing; eight principles of credible claims, building on the original six-step framework; and deeper explanations of sustainability labels, independent verification and credible certification.

FROM COMPLIANCE TO CREDIBLE COMMUNICATION

A central message of the guide is that stronger regulation should not lead to green hushing, the absence of or reluctance to communicate genuine environmental progress for fear of making misleading claims. Instead, the guide says organisations should communicate openly and confidently, supported by reliable evidence, clear language, and transparency about both achievements and limitations.

The guide’s CREDIBLE Claims Framework is intended to translate these principles into practical action, and GDS-Movement says credible sustainability communication requires collaboration between sustainability, operations, data and marketing teams. While EmpCo does not require every organisation to obtain sustainability certification, it introduces stricter requirements for sustainability labels and reinforces the importance of independent verification and credible evidence.

Note: Developed with ETC and NECSTouR, GDS-Movement positions the updated guide as more than a compliance obligation, offering tourism organisations an opportunity to strengthen internal capabilities, improve transparency, and build trust with visitors, clients and communities.