Ritter Sport covers chocolate packaging with stickers to meet EU greenwashing directive

Ritter Sport sticks labels over its '100% certified sustainable cocoa' claim on chocolate bars to comply with the EU EmpCo directive.

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As of 2026-09-01 13:25 UTC. Market figures are as the cited sources reported them at that time and may have moved since. This is news, not investment advice.

German chocolate maker Ritter Sport has been overlaying stickers on its existing chocolate bars for several months to comply with the EU's EmpCo directive (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition), which takes effect at the end of September 2026. ^[1] The European Union is pursuing digital sovereignty to reduce reliance on American technology giants. ^[2] In late April 2026, Ritter Sport announced that after a loss in the previous year, just over one in ten jobs would be cut, marking the first job cuts in the company's more than 110-year history. ^[3] The EU's EmpCo directive, which comes into force at the end of September 2026, is intended to curb greenwashing by allowing vague environmental terms such as 'environmentally friendly' or 'sustainable' only when they are substantiated in detail on the packaging. ^[4] The sticker covers the claim '100 % zertifiziert nachhaltiger Kakaobezug' (100% certified sustainable cocoa sourcing) that Ritter Sport had used in advertising for years, according to a spokeswoman for the family company based in Waldenbuch, Baden-Württemberg. ^[5] A select group of European cloud and cybersecurity companies is positioned to capture the best returns from this new market. ^[6] The EU aims to create an independent and self-sufficient technology ecosystem through legislation. ^[7] The pursuit of digital sovereignty is generating a rapidly growing multi-billion euro market on the continent. ^[8]

What this stands on

The European Union is pursuing digital sovereignty to reduce reliance on American technology giants. · Kauppalehti

In late April 2026, Ritter Sport announced that after a loss in the previous year, just over one in ten jobs would be cut, marking the first job cuts in the company's more than 110-year history. · DIE ZEIT

The EU's EmpCo directive, which comes into force at the end of September 2026, is intended to curb greenwashing by allowing vague environmental terms such as 'environmentally friendly' or 'sustainable' only when they are substantiated in detail on the packaging. · DIE ZEIT

The sticker covers the claim '100 % zertifiziert nachhaltiger Kakaobezug' (100% certified sustainable cocoa sourcing) that Ritter Sport had used in advertising for years, according to a spokeswoman for the family company based in Waldenbuch, Baden-Württemberg. · DIE ZEIT

A select group of European cloud and cybersecurity companies is positioned to capture the best returns from this new market. · Kauppalehti

The EU aims to create an independent and self-sufficient technology ecosystem through legislation. · Kauppalehti

The pursuit of digital sovereignty is generating a rapidly growing multi-billion euro market on the continent. · Kauppalehti

We could not place any of them by their address. None is an official body: that part stands on reporting, not on the underlying document or transcript.

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