Adapting the European Union's Green Claims Law to Combat Indonesian Greenwashing

Abstract

This study aims to compare environmental regulations in Indonesia with the European Union's Proposed Green Claims Directive in addressing greenwashing practices and to examine the directive's relevance as an effort to strengthen environmental protection in Indonesia. Using a normative juridical method with a legislative approach, namely, environmental regulations in Indonesia, as well as a comparative approach to EU policies. The data used consists of primary and secondary legal materials. The results of the study show that environmental regulations in Indonesia have not specifically addressed greenwashing and have not provided a comprehensive mechanism for the proof and verification of environmental claims, so supervision of the validity of environmental claims remains limited. In contrast, the European Union's Green Claims Directive Proposal establishes a regulatory framework that emphasizes scientific evidence, information transparency, verification, and oversight of environmental claims. The novelty of this research lies in the formulation of a regulatory adaptation model consisting of five aspects, namely the establishment of the definition and classification of greenwashing, the application of scientific proof standards for environmental claims, risk-based verification mechanisms by independent parties, the harmonization of the authority of supervisory institutions, and the strengthening of sanctions mechanisms. The adaptation framework across these five aspects can serve as a basis for strengthening environmental claims regulation to increase corporate accountability, prevent greenwashing, and support sustainable development in Indonesia.

Studi ini bertujuan membandingkan regulasi lingkungan hidup di Indonesia dengan proposal Green Claim Directive (arahan klaim hijau) oleh Uni Eropa dalam menangani praktik greenwashing di Indonesia, serta mengkaji relevansinya sebagai upaya memperkuat perlindungan lingkungan hidup di Indonesia. Studi ini menggunakan metode yuridis normatif dengan pendekatan perundang-undangan, yaitu regulasi lingkungan hidup di Indonesia, serta pendekatan komparatif terhadap kebijakan Uni Eropa. Data yang digunakan berupa bahan hukum primer dan sekunder. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa regulasi lingkungan hidup di Indonesia belum mengatur secara khusus praktik greenwashing serta belum menyediakan mekanisme yang komprehensif mengenai pembuktian dan verifikasi klaim lingkungan, sehingga pengawasan terhadap keabsahan klaim lingkungan masih terbatas. Sebaliknya, proposal Green Claims Directive Uni Eropa membangun kerangka pengaturan yang menekankan pembuktian ilmiah, transparansi informasi, verifikasi, dan pengawasan terhadap klaim lingkungan. Kebaruan penelitian ini terletak pada perumusan model adaptasi regulatif yang terdiri atas lima aspek, yaitu pembentukan definisi dan klasifikasi greenwashing, penerapan standar pembuktian ilmiah terhadap klaim lingkungan, mekanisme verifikasi berbasis risiko oleh pihak independen, harmonisasi kewenangan lembaga pengawasan, serta penguatan mekanisme sanksi. Kerangka adaptasi melalui lima aspek tersebut dapat menjadi dasar penguatan pengaturan klaim lingkungan untuk meningkatkan akuntabilitas korporasi, mencegah greenwashing, dan mendukung pembangunan berkelanjutan di Indonesia.

Keywords: Corporation; Green Claim Directive; Greenwashing