Bologna conference on Greewashing

A conference on Greenwashing was organized by the Bologna branch of AIPPI Italian Group at the end of last year. The purpose was to provide, in light with the Italian system, an overview of the regulation of so-called “green claims,” i.e., commercial communications that advertise and promote the environmental attributes of products and services, in light of the recent EU Directive 2024/825 (“Empowering consumers for the green transition through better protection against unfair practices and through better information”) and the draft Directive COM (2023) 166 (“Substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims”).

The conference examined the general framework of regulations regarding environmental advertising communication, both within the broader context of unfair commercial practices and with regard to the broader initiatives of the EU Green Deal.

The speakers, Prof. Carlo Berti, Prof. Giorgio Spedicato, Chiara Pappalardo, and Alessandro Balduzzi, highlighted how misleading environmental claims have been addressed within the Italian legal system, even before the introduction of EU-derived regulations.

Historically, the use of misleading environmental communications has been suppressed under unfair competition laws. On the other hand, the fight against greenwashing has been developed through the use of the self-regulation code for commercial communication (which includes general provisions on misleading advertising and specific rules regarding advertising for environmental protection) and the national regulations on misleading advertising (initially set forth in Legislative Decree 74/1992), with a significant body of decisions by the Italian Jury of the Self-Regulation of Commercial Communication and rulings from the Italian Competition Authority.

Over the last thirty years, the European Union has developed an increasingly sophisticated regulatory framework to fight greenwashing, defined as the adoption of deceptive practices that present companies or products as more sustainable than they really are. This regulatory journey, starting with the 1995 Communication “Priorities for Consumer Policy 1996-1998,” introduced significant regulations and directives, ending in the Directive 2024/825/EU, the Greenwashing Directive.

This Directive is part of the EU Green Deal adopted in 2019, which aims for climate neutrality by 2050, and promotes a circular economy, clean energy and environmental protection. It highlights the importance of reliable and accessible environmental information to enable consumers make informed choices (“good information, good decisions”).

The Greenwashing Directive has introduced stricter regulatory framework on greenwashing, amending previous Directives (2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU) by introducing a distinction between “explicit environmental claims” (non-mandatory messages highlighting specific ecological features of a product or service) and “generic environmental claims” (vague statements not supported by clear evidence), which are considered misleading if they lack specifications or verifiable justifications.

Transparency and verifiability requirements for environmental claims are also introduced, establishing that these claims must always be clear, specific, and supported by reliable evidence.

An expanded “blacklist” of “specific misleading practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair”, therefore prohibited, is included and cover specific forms of greenwashing. These blacklisted practices include the use of generic environmental claims, such as “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” lacking clear verification and scientific support and the use of unverified sustainability labels. It is also prohibited to claim “carbon-neutral” for a product without a detailed, verifiable plan. These practices are deemed misleading as they deceive consumers, hindering informed choices and undermining trust in the market. The blacklist thus strengthens consumer protection in the transition to sustainability.

The proposal for the Substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims directive [COM/2023/166] further strengthens this approach, regulating both the formulation and communication of environmental claims and requiring that explicit environmental claims be supported by verifiable and updatable scientific evidence.

The point is that, while the European framework is a significant advance, there are certain challenges to be faced. The overload of information risks to confuse consumers, compromising their ability to make informed choices (Greenshifting) and the costs to implement these rules and the complexities of them may encourage companies to minimize environmental communication to avoid sanctions (Greenhushing).