Corporate Greenwashing: When Ecological Marketing Becomes Fraud

The term Greenwashing has transcended the realm of marketing to fully enter Economic Criminal Law. Companies that exaggerate, falsify, or omit information about the environmental impact of their products to increase sales now face real criminal risks. The Environment and Consumer Prosecutor's Office has hardened its criteria: selling a product as "100% sustainable" or "Carbon Neutral" without rigorous scientific backing can amount to misleading advertising (Art. 282 CP, prison of 6 months to 1 year or a fine) and, when used to attract investors or cause patrimonial harm to a plurality of persons, may rise to an aggravated fraud under Art. 250.1.6 CP.

Crime of Misleading Advertising

Article 282 of the Criminal Code punishes manufacturers or traders who, in their offers or advertising, make false allegations about the product's characteristics, causing serious harm to consumers. In 2025, the most valued "characteristic" is sustainability. If a company attracts investment or customers based on false ecological credentials, it is committing a crime.

Liability of Executives

Not only does the company respond as a legal entity. Marketing directors, sustainability heads, and the CEO can be indicted if they approved advertising campaigns knowing their falsehood or with "reckless disregard for the truth". Defense requires proving that the claims were based on valid technical certifications at the time of issuance, alleging error of type if such certifications turned out to be inaccurate later.

Defense Strategy

Our defense in these cases is multidisciplinary: we combine environmental engineering expertise (to partially validate the claims) with market studies (to demonstrate that the ecological claim was not the decisive purchase factor, breaking the causal link of the fraud).