Sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in tourism – and so is the way it is communicated.
With the new EmpCo Guideline (Directive on empowering Co(Sumers for the Green Transition) will be subject to stricter requirements for environmental and sustainability claims within the EU from 27.09.2026.
The aim is to better protect consumers from misleading or unsubstantiated claims.
PMSG is also currently preparing for these new requirements and is reviewing its sustainability communication step by step – from the website to brochures, press releases to social media posts.
The aim is not to talk less about sustainability, but to formulate statements in a more concrete, transparent and comprehensible way in the future.
This is how we are currently proceeding
As part of our preparation, we rely on various aids:
- DTV Guidelines: The German Tourism Association provides comprehensive information and practical tools. We find their recommended assessment methodology particularly helpful, where each sustainability claim is evaluated based on five questions:
- Is this even an environmental statement?
- Is the statement formulated concretely?
- Is it comprehensible and verifiable?
- Is it complete and not misleading?
- Is there a reliable implementation plan for the promises made about the future?
In our view, these five questions are ideally suited as an internal review process – regardless of whether content is being created for websites, brochures or social media.
https://www.germany.travel/de/trade/handlungsleitfaden-empco.html
https://tourismusnetzwerk-brandenburg.de/themen/themen-z/nachhaltigkeit/ueberblick-ueber-die-empco-richtlinie
- TourCert: As a TourCert-certified destination, we use the information and tools provided there to further develop our sustainability communication. https://www.tourcert.org
- AI support: AI-powered applications can also help to identify potentially problematic wording in texts and develop concrete suggestions for improvement. However, they do not replace a legal review.
Our goal is to gather experience and share it with our tourism partners.
Practical tips
A free online training course entitled “What does the EmpCo directive mean for your company?” will take place on September 7, 2026. Registration is via the following link:
https://tourismusnetzwerk-brandenburg.de/termine/was-bedeutet-die-empco-richtlinie-fuer-ihr-unternehmen
To support its members and partners, the DZT a guide to action has been published.
The document can be downloaded here: