Since 2013, the Green Product Award and the Green Concept Award have been recognising outstanding solutions; entries are assessed by an international jury of experts on the basis of transparent criteria. For this year’s edition, the assessment and award system has been further refined. The focus is on, amongst other things, approach, development, impact, market, design, innovation and sustainability. The sustainability claims submitted must be formulated in concrete terms and be verifiable through appropriate evidence. The procedure is based on the requirements of the EU Ecodesign Regulation for sustainable products (ESPR) and takes into account the forthcoming requirements for sustainability communication under the EmpCo guidelines. A key change concerns the scope of the Green Product Award label: the award relates exclusively to the specific product, service or process that has been assessed. The certificate and seal specify the scope and period of validity; an award for an individual project therefore does not automatically apply to the entire company, other products or variants.

Entries can be submitted across a total of 14 categories, including Consumer Goods, Fashion, Interior & Lifestyle, Packaging, Personal Care and Kids. Both established companies and start-ups are eligible in each category; the Green Concept Award is open to concepts not yet ready for the market. It is worth companies submitting their entries early: The early-bird deadline is 17 September 2026. Until then, participants will receive an additional 30 % discount on the Product Compliance Check-Up for EmpCo. This involves a structured review of sustainability communications and the underlying supporting documentation to identify potential risks, ambiguities and areas for improvement. The standard submission deadline is 17 November 2026. The provisional finalists will be announced on 8 December, and the final finalists on 17 February 2027. The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place in Berlin at the end of March 2027.