Greenwashing in France: Conviction for environmental claims deemed misleading

In a harsh and debatable ruling, the Paris Court of Justice convicted a French multinational, for its climate-related communications, partially upholding the environmental protection organisations’ claims seeking to prohibit the use of misleading environmental statements in communications directed at consumers.

Carbon neutrality at the heart of the ruling

In 2021, the multinational launched a major communication campaign around its new climate strategy, highlighting its "ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and to be a major player in the energy transition".

In March 2022, three environmental organisations filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of making misleading claims to consumers about the carbon neutrality and environmental performance of fossil gas and biofuels.

However, the French Consumer Code, which penalises misleading commercial practices, targets claims relating to the environmental impact of a product or the company's ecological commitments. The court therefore considered that the communications were likely to mislead consumers into believing that they were in line with the scientific recommendations of the Paris Agreement, when in fact the company continued to increase its production and investment in fossil fuels, contrary to the recommendations calling for an immediate reduction in fossil fuel production. These practices were deemed likely to alter consumers' purchasing behaviour and were considered misleading.

However, the court considered that the claims relating to fossil gas and biofuels were not sufficiently linked to the sale of products to consumers and could not therefore be classified as 'commercial' practices.

Toughening of the fight against greenwashing

This decision is part of the ongoing fight against greenwashing that the DGCCRF has been pursuing in France for several years, a priority for the administration which intends to strengthen its inspections and raise awareness among professionals.

More broadly, these sanctions are part of the European policy of consumer protection and promotion of the green transition through transparent information, in accordance with Directive 2024/825 of 28 February 2024 ("EmpCo") , which must be transposed by Member States by 27 March 2026 at the latest, with immediate application on 27 September 2026.  The latter provides, in particular, for the addition of carbon neutrality claims to the blacklist of commercial practices that are presumed to be misleading in all circumstances and are therefore prohibited.

In conclusion, this sanction reflects the tightening of regulatory requirements for environmental transparency. In this context, companies must draft communications relating to their environmental ambitions and strategies with the utmost care to ensure that they cannot be characterised as misleading claims for consumers.

It is important to note the distinction between purely institutional and informational communications, which are not subject to the regulatory framework governing misleading commercial practices as they are not directly related to the promotion, sale or supply of a product to consumers, and environmental communications used as a marketing tool, which may be subject to penalties.