The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2025
GLS charged parcel customers for a 'Climate Protect' offset and pocketed the difference
GLS's paid 'Climate Protect' program billed parcel customers for carbon offsets — then the group signed up without transparency and kept more than it paid out.
GLS Group · 2025-02-04
What happened
GLS, a parcel-delivery group operating a highly polluting sector, ran a paid 'Climate Protect' environmental-sustainability program framed as building its green image. Subscribing customers were forced to pay for a carbon-offset certificate they had not asked for.
The Italian Competition Authority found the program was organised, funded and promoted in a non-transparent way and lacked the rigour expected of logistics and transport. The contribution amount was set without verifying the costs actually incurred, top clients were exempted, and ordinary customers were led to believe GLS itself was funding the program when in fact subscribers and logistics partners bore all the cost.
The green claims were ambiguous and not verifiable, and the group effectively cashed in more than it paid out. On 4 February 2025 the AGCM fined the three GLS entities a joint €8 million for unfair commercial practices under Articles 20, 21, 22 and 26(f) of the Consumer Code — a benchmark greenwashing penalty in the parcel sector.
Why it happened
- A paid 'sustainability' program lets a polluter charge its own customers to look green
- Exempting top clients while billing everyone else made the 'climate' contribution a revenue line, not a commitment
- Setting the offset price without verifying real costs guaranteed the group came out ahead
The lesson
A green label is a claim about the environment, not a revenue device. Charging customers for offsets while GLS kept more than it paid out turned its sustainability story into €8 million in fines.
Aftermath
The AGCM fined the three GLS entities €8 million jointly for the unfair 'Climate Protect' practice and found the environmental statements not clear or verifiable. The ruling is a flagship European greenwashing penalty in the logistics sector.
Sources
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