Green claims: moral suasion vs electric car makers concluded

Edited by Paola Furiosi and Francesca Caliri

On October 9, the Italian Competition and Market Authority (AGCM) successfully concluded its moral suasion against two electric vehicle manufacturers, whose sustainability claims (“green claims”) risked translating into misleading information for consumers.

Green claims: what are they?

Starting from the beginning, “green claims” are the statements made by companies with respect to their products and/or services, aimed at communicating their sustainable impact to the public. In this regard, it is possible to distinguish between “green marketing” and “greenwashing.”
The former is a technique based on the promotion of products and services with a low environmental impact, with the aim of meeting the needs of consumers oriented toward green purchasing. With total transparency and complete consumer protection, it aims to communicate the eco-sustainability behind certain products and services by promoting environmentally friendly business practices and obtaining environmental certifications.

However, it is necessary for such claims to be true, provided accurately and precisely, and for the green claims to be verifiable, so as not to fall into the age-old phenomenon of greenwashing. In fact, unlike green marketing, greenwashing represents a “communication or marketing strategy pursued by companies, institutions, and entities that present their activities as environmentally sustainable, trying to conceal their negative environmental impact.” In essence, through greenwashing companies intend to promote themselves or their products as green, sustainable or environmentally friendly, without offering concrete evidence to support such claims, with the goal of attracting consumers, without necessarily engaging in actual sustainable practices.

The relevant legislation

In accordance with the Italian Consumer Code, greenwashing may constitute an “unfair commercial practice” (i.e., an untrue, misleading, inadequately supported or unverifiable statement regarding the characteristics of a product or service, intended to guide consumer choice) and, for that reason, is prohibited. At the national level, although there is no express regulatory reference, the AGCM has repeatedly traced “abusive” green claims to unfair trade practices, as confirmed in the case under review.

Moreover, in a regulatory framework is highly fragmented between States, the European Union has recently intervened with two Directives aimed at countering the said phenomenon. Specifically:

EU Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition by improving protection from unfair practices and information, so called “Empowering Consumers Directive,” which entered into force on March 26, 2024 and which Member States will have to transpose by March 27, 2026 and implement locally by September 27, 2026; and
the Green Claims Directive (to date, still in a proposed state) which aims to ensure greater transparency and truthfulness with respect to companies’ environmental claims.

The conduct challenged by the Authority

In the case at hand, the AGCM found that on the websites of the companies involved in the intervention there were green claims regarding the absence of emissions of the vehicles marketed, as well as the reduced environmental impact or total environmental sustainability of the same (e.g., “100% sustainable,” “100% green,” “Zero emissions,” “Zero impact on the environment,” “eco”).
However, these statements were entirely generic, as not only were they unverifiable, but it was not even indicated which aspect and/or stage of the product life cycle they were referred to (e.g., production of the vehicle and batteries, distribution, use, disposal of the vehicle and batteries). The Authority has – in fact – pointed out that, in assessing its environmental impact, it is also necessary to consider the emissions associated with both the electricity mix normally required to recharge batteries and the use of vehicles itself.

The companies involved have therefore taken steps to remove the claims deemed to be non-compliant with the transparency and truthfulness requirements imposed by current regulations and which, even more so, will require more stringent validation requirements once the relevant European provisions come into force.