Travellers want to choose better, and they're tired of being told what to think. That leaves tourism businesses in a tricky spot: say too much and risk greenwashing; say too little, and your real progress disappears. Somewhere between the two is a place we'd love to see more of our industry standing in, loudly.
There are three "green" terms worth knowing right now: greenwashing, greenhushing and greenshouting. And as of September 27, 2026, there's a fourth thing every tourism business selling to European travellers needs to know: the EU's Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, better known as EmpCo.
Let's break it all down, and talk about how to share your impact honestly, confidently and in a way that holds up.
Greenwashing: saying more than you're doing
Greenwashing is when sustainability claims give people a misleading impression of a business's environmental or social impact. Sometimes it's deliberate. More often in tourism, it's a well-meaning team reaching for easy words like "eco-friendly" without the evidence to back them up.
It's also widespread. A 2020 European Commission study found that more than half of the environmental claims it examined were vague, misleading or unfounded. Travellers notice: Expedia research found that 7 in 10 travellers had avoided a destination or transport option because its sustainability commitments didn't seem credible.
Common examples in travel include:
Calling a tour, lodge or destination "green," "eco" or "sustainable" with no detail on what that means.
Describing a trip as "carbon neutral" because offsets were purchased.
Displaying a homemade badge or leaf icon that looks like a certification but isn't one.
Promoting one sustainable initiative (say, a solar-powered office) as if it applies to the whole business.
Presenting a legal requirement, like a local plastic bag ban, as a special achievement.
Announcing "net zero by 2040" with no plan behind it.
Greenhushing: doing more than you're saying
Greenhushing is the opposite problem. It's when a business is genuinely taking action but stays quiet about it, usually out of fear of being called out, getting the language wrong or running afoul of new rules. This is one of the most common problems I see in my work.
The instinct is understandable. Canada saw a wave of it after the 2024 amendments to the Competition Act, when the federal government itself acknowledged that some businesses were delaying or scaling back environmental initiatives because of compliance uncertainty.
But silence has a cost. When the businesses doing real work go quiet, the loudest voices left are often the least accurate or honest. Travellers lose the information they need to choose well. Your team loses a source of pride. Your peers lose a model to learn from. And the sector loses momentum at exactly the moment it needs it.
Greenshouting: why we need more of it
Greenshouting is what happens when you do the work and then talk about it clearly, specifically and proudly. It's not hype. It's honest storytelling with evidence attached.
We need more of it because tourism runs on trust and inspiration. When a lodge shares exactly how it cut food waste by sourcing from three local farms, or a tour operator explains why it swapped short-haul flights for rail, it does three things at once. It helps travellers choose. It holds the business accountable to keep going. And it shows others in the industry what's possible.
The key is that greenshouting is built on substance. It shares what you've actually done, with numbers where you have them, honest about what's still in progress. That's also exactly what the new rules are asking for.
The EmpCo Directive is now in effect
On September 27, 2026, the EU's Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (EU) 2024/825 began applying across all 27 member states, with no transition period. It updates existing EU consumer protection law to stop misleading environmental claims and labels. Penalties can reach up to 4% of annual turnover.
Why it matters for Canadian tourism businesses: EmpCo applies to anyone marketing to consumers in the EU, wherever they're based. If you welcome European travellers or your copy ends up in a partner's EU-facing brochure, EmpCo should shape what you say.
EmpCo is separate from the proposed EU Green Claims Directive, which has not been adopted. And here at home, Canada amended its own anti-greenwashing rules in March 2026 through Bill C-15. That change removed the requirement to substantiate business-level claims using an "internationally recognized methodology," but claims still need adequate and proper substantiation, and misleading environmental claims remain prohibited under the Competition Act.
How to greenshout without greenwashing
The good news: if you're already doing the work, communicating it well is very manageable. Here's where we'd start.
Audit what you're already saying. Look beyond your website copy to brochures, social posts, booking pages, email signatures, tour names, logos and imagery. Under EmpCo, a leaf icon or a product name like "Eco Escapes" can count as a claim.
Swap adjectives for evidence. Replace "sustainable tours" with what actually happens: "80% of our meals are sourced from producers within 100 km." Specifics are more credible and more interesting.
Tell the story behind the number. Introduce the fisher who supplies your restaurant or the community partner who co-designed your experience. Stories bring evidence to life and connect with your people.
Be clear about scope and progress. Say which properties, trips or operations a claim covers. Be honest about what's still in progress. Travellers respect and trust transparency more than perfection.
Reduce first, then contribute. Measure your footprint, set reduction targets and share progress. If you support offset or nature projects, frame them as a contribution, not a cancellation.
Earn your labels. If you want a badge, pursue a credible third-party certification such as B Corp or certifications accredited by the GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council).
Back up your goals. If you publish a future commitment, publish the plan too, with milestones, actions and a way to track progress.
Keep your receipts. Document the data behind every claim so you can answer questions from travellers, partners or regulators.
Bring your team along. Make sure everyone who writes customer-facing content understands what you can and can't say, and why.
Tools to help you check your claims
One of the easiest places to start is Sustainable Travel International's free Green Claims Checker. Paste in your marketing copy or upload a PDF or image, choose which regulations to check against, and the tool flags language that may be vague, exaggerated, unsupported or confusing about climate impact. It then explains why and suggests what to say instead.
It can screen against EmpCo, the UK's CMA Green Claims Code, the US FTC Green Guides, Australia's ACCC guidance and the Netherlands' ACM guidelines, plus a set of global best practices. The free version lets you run up to three screenings a day of up to 2,000 characters each. Sustainable Travel International members get fuller reviews, regulation-specific guidance and suggested rewrites.
A flag isn't a verdict, and a clean result isn't legal advice. Think of it as a smart first read that helps you spot problems early.
Other helpful resources:
The EU's New Rules for Green Claims: A Guide for Tourism Businesses, Sustainable Travel International's plain-language EmpCo explainer for tourism.
Green Claims Messaging Guide, a free download with examples of claims to avoid and better alternatives.
Humí, a tool for measuring the carbon footprint of tour itineraries, so your claims start from real data.
Under B Lab’s V2 standards, organizations must now have a Responsible Marketing & Public Relations Policy under the Purpose and Stakeholder Governance (PSG4) impact topic to address exactly this. This guidance is useful for any business, B Corp or not.
Creatives for Climate have a Greenshouting Guide that is endorsed by B Lab.
Let's make some noise, the honest way
EmpCo isn't a reason to go quiet. It's an invitation to communicate better. The businesses that will stand out now are the ones that can show their work: clear actions, real results and stories that centre the people and places that make travel meaningful.
This post is for general information and isn't legal advice. If you market to EU travellers, check how EmpCo has been transposed in the member states that matter to your business.
