On 5th February 2026 the Italian Council of Ministers granted final approval to the Legislative Decree implementing Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition by strengthening protection against unfair practices and improving consumer information (“Decree”)[1].
The Decree constitutes an important instrument to fight against greenwashing and misleading green claims, addressing unfair commercial practices and misleading information relating to environmental sustainability.
Through a series of amendments to the Italian Consumers’ Code (i.e., Legislative Decree No. 206/2005), the Decree will introduce important changes. Firstly, Article 18 will be amended to introduce new definitions in relation to environment-related unfair commercial practices, including the definition of “environmental claim”, “sustainability label” and “certification scheme”. Secondly, Articles 21 and 22 of the Italian Consumers’ Code will be amended to strengthen the framework for identifying misleading commercial practices. More specifically, Article 21 will be updated to expressly recognize environmental and social characteristics of products, as well as circularity aspects (such as the product’s durability, reparability and recyclability), as relevant factors in the case-by-case assessment of whether commercial practices are misleading and to establish that environmental claims concerning future performance must be supported by clear, verifiable and publicly available commitments, including detailed implementation plans, measurable targets and independent third-party monitoring. Instead, Article 22 will be amended by inserting new paragraph 5-ter concerning misleading omissions. Where a business offers product comparison services relating to environmental, social or circularity characteristics, the following become material information: the comparison method, the products and suppliers included, and the measures to keep the data updated, in light of the potentially misleading nature of such comparisons. Further, Article 23 of the Italian Consumers’ Code will be expanded to include additional environment-related misleading practices to the relevant “blacklist”, such as using uncertified sustainability labels or generic environmental claims that cannot be substantiated. Lastly, a new Article 65-ter will be introduced into the Italian Consumers’ Code to provide, also for contracts concluded online, a harmonized notice on the legal guarantee of conformity and a harmonized label on the durability guarantee.
Some other amendments will be introduced into the Italian Consumer’s Code to amend the provisions on contracts with consumers, including online contracts. Specifically, Articles 45, 48, 49 and 51 will be amended to strengthen pre-contractual information requirements, requiring businesses to inform consumers about the existence of the above-mentioned guarantees, post-sale services, software updates and the reparability index where available or, in its absence, information on the availability and estimated cost of spare parts, maintenance instructions and any restrictions on repair.
Non-compliance with the new provisions will be supervised by the Italian Competition Authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato), which may impose the sanctions prescribed for unfair commercial practices. The Decree will be published in the Official Gazette, and the new provisions above shall be applicable starting from September 2026.
[1] Press release from the Council of Ministers no. 159 of February 5, 2026 (https://www.governo.it/it/articolo/comunicato-stampa-del-consiglio-dei-ministri-n-159/31034).
