Law 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021 on combating climate change and strengthening resilience to its effects makes it compulsory to display information on the environmental impacts and compliance with social criteria of a good or service placed on the market.

The obligation to display information on the environmental impacts or compliance with social criteria of a good, service or category of goods or services placed on the national market is provided for in Article L. 541-9-11 of the Environmental Code. Article L. 541-9-12 of the Environmental Code specifies the conditions and reservations of this obligation. This display is carried out by means of marking or labelling or by any other suitable method. It must be visible or accessible to the consumer. The information must take into account greenhouse gas emissions, damage to biodiversity and the consumption of water and other natural resources over the entire life cycle of the product or service.

The compulsory display of information on the environmental impacts and social criteria of a good or service placed on the market will go through an experimental phase of a maximum duration of 5 years starting on 22 August 2021. Different methodologies for calculating environmental impacts and displaying them will be tested. During this experimental phase, public or private persons wishing to implement a display intended to provide consumers with information on the environmental impacts or compliance with social criteria of a good, service or category of goods or services must mention the experimental nature of the display.

At the end of the experimental phase and after an evaluation of the experiment, environmental labelling will be made compulsory under the conditions set out in Article L. 541-9-12 of the Environmental Code. This article provides that the list of categories of goods and services concerned by mandatory environmental labelling will be determined by decree. It will define the methodology to be used, as well as the display methods adopted, for each category of goods and services concerned. For the categories of goods and services not covered by mandatory labelling, voluntary labelling must comply with the requirements set out in the decree.

Article L.541-9-14 of the Environmental Code provides that any failure to comply with the posting obligations set out in Article L. 541-9-11 is punishable by an administrative fine of up to €3,000 for a natural person and €15,000 for a legal person. Article L. 541-9-15 of the same code provides that the use or publication of a display that does not meet the conditions laid down is subject to an administrative fine of up to €3,000 for a natural person and €15,000 for a legal person.

According to Article L. 229-67, importers, distributors or other persons placing on the market goods and services subject to mandatory environmental display pursuant to Article L. 541-9-11, a mandatory energy label under Article 16 of EU Regulation No. 2017/1369 of 4 July 2017, or a mandatory label under Article L. 318-1 of the Highway Code, and whose advertising investments are greater than or equal to €100,000 per year, must declare themselves to a dedicated digital platform set up by the public authorities, in accordance with terms and conditions defined by decree. In the event of failure to comply with this declaration obligation, the maximum fine is €30,000.