Implementation tracker for the EmpCo Directive - Norway

No - but a legislative proposal has been presented to Parliament and is currently under committee consideration.

Yes. Prop. 38 LS (2025–2026) was presented to Parliament on 20 March 2026. The proposal envisages amendments to the Marketing Control Act (markedsføringsloven), the Right of Withdrawal Act (angrerettloven), the Contracts Act (avtaleloven) and the Regulation on unfair commercial practices (forskrift om urimelig handelspraksis).

Link: https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/prop.-38-ls-20252026/id3152649/

The Ministry aims to follow the EU-entry-into-force date of 27 September 2026 for the Norwegian implementation. This is subject to the Directive being formally incorporated into the EEA Agreement and Parliament consenting to the incorporation. The precise entry-into-force date will be determined after Parliament has considered the legislative proposal.

Delayed entry into force will apply to the proposed digital withdrawal button in the Right of Withdrawal Act, and may also apply to other parts of the legislation.

No. The proposal follows a directive-close transposition approach. The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive is fully harmonised, and the Consumer Rights Directive is in principle fully harmonised, with limited room for national adaptation on certain points. No provisions exceeding the minimum harmonisation requirements or specific deviations from the EmpCo Directive are envisaged.

As of May 2026, no specific national guidance on the EmpCo Directive has been issued. The Norwegian Consumer Authority has published general guidance on the use of sustainability claims in marketing, available on its website, but this predates the new rules and has not yet been updated to reflect them. The proposition confirms that updated online guidance will be provided once the new rules are adopted. At EU level, the European Commission published a Q&A document on the EmpCo Directive on 28 November 2025, which is referenced in the proposition as an interpretive aid. 

Yes. The most prominent scheme is the Nordic Swan Ecolabel (Svanemerket), an ISO 14024 type I ecolabel established by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 1989 and managed in Norway by the Foundation for Environmental Labelling Norway. It is based on independent third-party certification and covers a wide range of product categories. The EU Ecolabel is also managed in Norway by the same foundation and is likewise an ISO 14024 type I ecolabel. Both are established by public authorities and are therefore permitted under the Directive without being subject to the additional requirements applicable to private certification schemes.

The existing enforcement frameworks under the Marketing Control Act, the Right of Withdrawal Act and the Contracts Act will apply. The proposition does not introduce new sanction mechanisms, but confirms that the clarified and expanded rules — in particular the expanded blacklist — will make enforcement easier and more efficient. All sanctions are administrative in nature.

The available enforcement tools are as follows: 
The Norwegian Consumer Authority and the Market Council may issue prohibition and compliance orders against businesses that breach the rules (cf. § 40 of the Marketing Control Act). To ensure compliance with such orders, coercive fines may be imposed (cf. § 41 of the Marketing Control Act). In addition, the Norwegian Consumer Authority may impose administrative fines for breaches of the Marketing Control Act §§ 6–9, which cover unfair, misleading and aggressive commercial practices, as well as the blacklist regulation (cf. § 42 of the Marketing Control Act). Administrative fines may also be imposed for certain breaches of the Right of Withdrawal Act (§ 29) and the Contracts Act (§ 38 c, second paragraph). The threshold for imposing administrative fines is that the breach must be significant or repeated, and must have been committed intentionally or negligently.

Decisions by the Consumer Authority may be appealed to the Market Council. Decisions may also be challenged before the courts.

The primary supervisory and enforcement authority is the Norwegian Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet), which is responsible for monitoring compliance, issuing prohibition and compliance orders, and imposing administrative fines and coercive fines. The Market Council (Markedsrådet) serves as an appellate and decision-making body with authority to review decisions by the Consumer Authority, issue orders, and impose administrative fines and coercive fines.

Enforcement of the new provisions in the Contracts Act § 38 b and the Right of Withdrawal Act is also carried out by the Norwegian Consumer Authority and the Market Council under the same framework.

Environmental claims in marketing have not been the subject of significant court litigation in Norway. However, the Norwegian Consumer Authority and the Market Council have addressed the topic in a number of cases under the Marketing Control Act, and this administrative enforcement practice constitutes the main body of case law on environmental claims in Norway.

Key principles established through the administrative enforcement practice include that general terms such as "environmentally friendly" require documentation covering the product's entire life cycle (from production to disposal), that the burden of proof lies with the marketer, and that claims must relate to substantial aspects of the product.

Several consultation responses to Prop. 38 LS (2025–2026) noted that the new EmpCo rules largely codify the existing practice. At the same time, the Norwegian Consumer Authority noted that the new rules will likely make it easier to enforce against misleading and insufficiently documented environmental and climate claims in marketing.