Italy
Status of the current legislative process
The draft of the legislative decree implementing the EmpCo into national law was issued on 12 November 2025 and made publicly available on 19 November 2025.
In December 2025, examinations were carried out by the competent parliamentary committees, and transposition is expected by the established deadline of 27 March 2026.
Link to the draft (if available)
The draft is available here (in Italian).
Does the implementation go beyond EmpCo requirements?
No.
The draft decree transposes the EmpCo in full, except for minor deviations, including the reformulation of certain definitions by directly referring to the specific articles implementing the EU provisions referred to in the EmpCo or by adjusting certain terms used in the Italian version of the EmpCo.
However, the competent parliamentary committees have made observations that may lead to changes to the current draft decree.
Are there any comments from relevant authorities on the interpretation or enforcement of the national implementation?
Yes. The Italian Competition and Market Authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato - AGCM), which is the competent authority for enforcing the national implementation, commented that, in principle, the draft decree would in fact implement well-established case law interpretations and consolidated administrative practices and that, therefore, its impact will necessarily be limited on the AGCM’s enforcement activities.
Nonetheless, the AGCM acknowledged that the implementation law will:
a) allow strengthening legal certainty for all market operators and fostering fair competition under equal conditions within the internal market; and
b) introduce new provisions which are expected to expand the scope of the AGCM’s powers, equipping it with more effective measures than those currently available. For instance, the prohibition on generic environmental claims where the trader is unable to demonstrate the recognized excellence of the relevant environmental performance will entail a reversal of the burden of proof regarding environmental claims, thereby facilitating enforcement.
Moreover, prior to the publication of the draft decree, the Italian Council of State, with decision no. 3701 of 23 April 2024 (overturning an AGCM’s decision by which a fuel company had been fined €5 million), considered the EmpCo - although not yet transposed and applicable - for interpretative purposes.
Among other things, such decision clarified that the EmpCo would not fundamentally prohibit using a ‘green’ claim with respect to potentially polluting products, provided that such claim i) is specific and not generic or ii) where generic, is supported by recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim.
It also clarified that the prohibition on making an environmental claim about the entire product when it concerns only a certain aspect of the product should also apply where the trader is able to demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance.
Will the national implementation be applied in a Business-To-Business (B2B) context?
No, except for the new unfair commercial practices that, in line with existing provisions, will also protect microenterprises, where no specific protection is granted under Legislative Decree No. 145/2007 on misleading advertising or unlawful comparative advertising.
However, considering the Italian case law, the rules on unfair commercial practices may be also taken into consideration in B2B relationships by civil courts as criteria to assess whether a commercial practice or an advertising statement constitutes an unfair competition act according to Article 2598 of the Italian Civil Code.
Is there a green claims guide/guidance in your country?
The Italian Advertising Self-Regulation Institute (Istituto di Autodisciplina Pubblicitaria – “IAP”) has published a Green Claims Brochure, based, in particular, on Article 12 of IAP’s Code of Marketing Communication Self-Regulation (on claims relating to the protection of natural environment) and relevant case-law: https://www.iap.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GREEN-CLAIMS-Brochure.pdf
What are the sanctions and penalties?
The AGCM may proceed with moral suasions or initiate administrative proceedings possibly leading to i) administrative fines between Euro 5,000 and Euro 10,000,000, ii) injunctions, as well as iii) the publication of the decision.
Does the national implementation answer the following questions:
(1) whether sustainability labels can take the form of text;
(2) whether generic environmental claims can be used or are they banned unless you have recognised excellent environmental performance;
(3) whether GHG impact claims based on GHG offsets are banned only if offsets are the sole basis, or even if offsets and GHG reductions are combined.
(i) The draft decree implements the EmpCo's definition of sustainability labels in full and does not explicitly address whether sustainability labels can consist solely of text. Since the wording does not exclude this possibility, text-based sustainability labels could in principle be covered.
(ii) The draft decree fully implements the relevant ban as provided in Annex I of the EmpCo providing for the prohibition to make a generic environmental claim for which the trader is not able to demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim. In this respect, the AGCM has commented that this provision will in fact entail a reversal of the burden of proof regarding such claims.
(iii) The draft decree fully implements the relevant ban as provided in Annex I of the EmpCo. Where offsets and GHG reductions are combined, any GHC impact claims should be clear, specific and strictly limited to the benefit resulting solely from the GHG reduction (and not also the offsets).
