The role of the certification systems in the EU legal framework for sustainability goals, current state and future perspectives

Abstract

Standards and certifications for sustainability are widely used by business operators to guide them in the introduction of sustainability practices and, through sustainability labels, to make their choices recognizable to competitors and consumers. The rules of standards and certifications supplement legal instruments for sustainability currently being developed at the European Union level. They are also particularly useful due to their potentially global nature, compared to statutory provisions, whose territorial applicability is limited. Within the European regulatory framework, EU Directive 2024/825-directly aimed at regulating sustainability labels-has identified certain characteristics that certification systems must possess to avoid being classified as unfair commercial practices. Transparency, scientific justification of sustainability actions undertaken and reported, continuous monitoring and objective evaluation by a third-party organization of the activities carried out and the results achieved, and the importance (even if indirect) of measuring and measurable results. It follows that the Standards and Certifications currently in use, in order to fulfill their role in supporting the organization of business activities in a context driven by sustainability objectives, must undergo a process of improvement along the indicated lines.