The transport and shipping sector has long been under scrutiny for its environmental impact and the pressing need to adopt more sustainable practices. However, the growing focus on environmental issues can also become a tool for deceptive marketing tactics. This was highlighted in the case of General Logistics Systems (GLS), which was hit with an eight-million-euro fine by the Italian Competition Authority, announced on 4 February 2025.
The companies involved include General Logistics Systems, the parent company of the GLS group in Europe, alongside the Italian subsidiaries General Logistics Systems Italy and General Logistics Systems Enterprise. According to the authority, the Climate Protect environmental sustainability programme, launched to bolster the company’s eco-friendly image, was conducted in violation of consumer and micro-enterprise protection regulations.
The authority stated that this programme was promoted without the necessary transparency and rigour. Specifically, the environmental claims published on the website of General Logistics Systems Italy were deemed ambiguous, vague, and insufficiently verifiable. This misled customers into perceiving the programme as more effective than it actually was.
A particularly critical aspect concerned the requirement for customers subscribed to General Logistics Systems Enterprise services to participate in the Climate Protect programme by paying a financial contribution. In return, they received a certificate claiming to offset the CO2 emissions from their shipments. However, this contribution was set without any prior verification of the programme’s actual costs. Furthermore, while large customers were exempt from these payments, it was implied that the group’s own companies were making significant contributions to funding the initiative, which turned out to be untrue.
The competition authority noted that its analysis revealed GLS had passed the entire cost of the programme onto subscribed customers and businesses affiliated with the General Logistics Systems Italy network. Not only that, but the contributions collected exceeded the expenses incurred in implementing the programme, turning an initiative presented as sustainable into an unjustified source of profit. The certificates issued to customers and affiliated businesses, attesting to the offsetting of CO2 emissions, were found to be misleading, ambiguous, and, in some cases, untrue. This conduct violated several articles of the Consumer Code, particularly articles 20, 21, 22, and 26(f), which govern unfair commercial practices.
